Table for One
by ButI'mNotAWrestlingFic
Summary: It's lonely at the top of the mountain, but Seth and Sasha are finding some solace in each other's friendship. When they get thrown into a massive program fighting for that top spot, the main event, and the WWE crown, they might have to own up to something more. [Sasha Banks/Seth Rollins] M for language, themes, and later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

**A/N:** So in this universe of WWE, the characters are who they portray on camera (I.E .Sasha Banks is actually Sasha Banks) but are working wrestling matches, with programing and creative. Sasha has a fictional fiancé because it seemed like a good place to start their friendship, but it's not Mikaze and we're all very happy for them in their very non-fictional lives.

XXX

They used to tell him it'd be lonely at the top of the mountain, but he never believed them. It wasn't like Seth Rollins was some social butterfly anyway, he'd made a few close friends along the way and didn't bother himself with the others. If some of those guys were jealous, it wasn't really his problem.

When you worked with someone as long as he had worked with Roman and Dean that bond would always be there, but some days weaker than others. Today was one of those days. The program with Roman had forced them to give each other space, not wanting any old bad blood to seep into the match and ruin it. Seth should've known that Dean would choose a side, even if he didn't strictly speaking have to. Survival was in his nature. So Seth sat alone for most of SmackDown, having completed his promo for the match in the opener.

A Diva's match was on the monitor when Kevin Owens sat down beside him. They were friendly from both hanging out with the Up Up Down Down gang, but Kevin wasn't really one for small talk. They sat in silence, watching Paige and Sasha Banks have their match.

"Whoa," Kevin said after a minute, "Sasha looks really stiff."

"Yeah, I saw that, new style maybe?"

"If you look stiff compared to Paige, you're working too stiff."

"That's fair."

The match ended, it wasn't a particularly long spot. Sasha had the victory, but she didn't look happy, she looked exhausted. The camera cut to Paige, who was walking backwards up the ramp, furious.

"Something's happened." Seth said, looking intently at the screen. Kevin shrugged and said something about going to catering.

A little while later, he was joined again, this time by the pink haired woman herself. She sat down next to him with an ice pack on her knee, rolling her neck and not looking over.

"Good match," said Seth.

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Oookay." So they didn't. They just sat watching the next match take place in the ring. He stole a couple of glances over to her, she looked exhausted and frustrated, staring blankly ahead at the monitor. She kept rubbing her ring finger, sometimes lightly, sometimes feverishly.

Out of the corner of his eye he saw Paige emerge from the trainer's, the furious look on her face had not gone anywhere.

"OY. Sasha." She stormed over, Sasha sighed and turned in the metal folding chair.

"I know, I'm sorry Paige."

"What the ELL was that?"

"I'm just… it's not important, I know, I was a little stiff."

"A LITTLE stiff?"

"Okay, okay, I'm sorry. I'm having a week."

"Whatever baggage you're carrying around, leave it at the door. Don't bring it into the ring and put it on me."

"I know, I know. Paige, I'm sorry, alright? Won't happen again."

"I hope not. You're better than that, Sash." She stormed off again. Sasha groaned and leaned her head back, shutting her eyes tightly.

"You okay?"

She blinked her eyes open and looked over at him, having practically forgotten he was sitting there.

"Yeah, it's fine, Paige gets a little huffy sometimes, she'll get over it."

"We all have bad days."

"Oh even you champ?" she asked sarcastically, "Good to know."

"Yeah, I've had a few of those myself," he locked eyes on her. She looked down, it wasn't really her style to be callous with anyone.

"Sorry."

"Stop apologizing. And get some rest."

"Yeah, yeah, I feel that," she rolled her shoulders back, "think I'm skipping the party tonight."

"You and me both. After last week…"

She rolled her eyes and Seth shook his head. "That was a rough night."

XXX

"Are ya sure?" Becky asked, again, as she pulled her hair out from the collar of her leather jacket. "You're not interruptin' anything, really. It's just Finn."

"I'm sure." Sasha was stretched out on her bed in the hotel room, swiping through Netflix options on her phone. "I'm just not in the mood to see everyone."

"Okay, you'll text me if you need anythin', right?"'

"BEX."

"Okay, okay, going." Becky closed the door behind her and waited for the elevator. When it opened, Seth Rollins stepped out, to her surprise.

"Oh, hey Becky, you going out?"

"Yeah… what about you?" He held two plastic bags from the convince store in his hands, "aren't you rooming with Finn while he works dark matches on this loop?"

"I am actually-"

"Cause that's where I'm headed…"

"Yeah, I- just wanted to see how Sasha was doing."

"How **Sasha's** doing?"

He shrugged, "brought her ice cream."

"Ookay," Becky raised an eyebrow, but didn't push. Most people had the good sense to leave Sasha alone, but Seth didn't always seem like he had good sense. She watched him walk down the hall to her room and knock, but the doors of the elevator shut before Sasha opened it.

"Forget your key?" Sasha asked, opening the door, but it was not Becky standing in the hallway. Instead she was met by the WWE Champion. "Seth?"

"Hey! I brought you something."

"You what?"

"You seemed upset, so I brought you something. It's cookie dough."

She looked at him for a minute, and down to the Ben & Jerry's label visible through the plastic bag. "Alright, come on in."

Inside he put the bags down and she returned to the bed, watching him carefully. This was weird. He knew this was weird, right? It wasn't like they were strangers, but she'd come into NXT just as he had left, and had only actually gotten to know each other in the past few months. He was champion the entire time she'd been on the road with them, and that was isolating for some guys because of backstage politics. They'd hung out from time to time, but they weren't friends. Not like this. Not like cheer you up friends.

"Okay so," he pulled out the pint of ice cream, a six pack of beer, and two plastic spoons, "we got cookie dough and Heineken, don't knock it 'till you've tried it, the dryness of the beer really compliments the sweetness of the ice cream, or some shit, I don't know."

She almost smiled watching him, Seth was usually pretty cool and collected, but when something made him full of energy, he was always a spectacle.

"We got compression socks," he tossed a ball over to her, she caught them with a confused look. "Because I'm guessing everything is just sort of aching right now. Promise I washed those."

That was true, everything was aching, it had been for a couple weeks now.

"And we got a DVD of _Cool Runnings_ ," he held it up with a big smile, "because no one has ever been sad while watching _Cool Runnings_. It's just not possible."

He popped in the DVD and opened up the ice cream, handing her a spoon and leaning back on the mass of pillows.

"Seth."

"Yeah?" he wasn't looking over as he set the subtitles on the movie.

"What is this?"

He met her gaze. "You're exhausted, you're distracted and stiff in the ring, your friends have been treating you like you're made of glass, and you won't stop rubbing your ring finger."

She looked down, her left ring finger was rubbed red. "Didn't even notice I was doing that…"

"And I've been there."

She must've made a face because he let out a deep sigh.

"I know, I know, I brought that shit on myself. I'm not proud of it, and I'm not saying it's the same. But breaking off an engagement sucks, and the only people who can understand how much it sucks are the ones who've broken an engagement."

She blinked away tears and looked away.

"I'm sorry, Sasha. And I'm just trying to help." He watched as she fumbled with her hair, not meeting his gaze and blinking rapidly. "Look, if you want me to go, I'll go. But I gotta tell you, you're in for a lot of lonely nights, and there were so many times I just wished I had a friend."

Finally she looked over at him, letting one of the corners of her mouth turn up into a smile. "Pass a beer."

He handed it to her and hit play on the movie. After a while, he got her to laugh, and it felt good to see her smile again. Sasha was charismatic, it was part of what made her so good as a character. That smile was infectious, her hair swinging as she tipped her head back. The movie was wrapping up as Seth finished his third beer, she was still working on her last one, and his spoon was scraping against the bottom of the pint.

"Aaaaand we ate the whole thing."

"Oh, oops. Don't tell Charlotte, I'm supposed to be doing this crazy cleanse with her."

"Gross."

"I know." She curled up at the headboard and looked over at him, "You're alright, Rollins."

He chuckled, "I'll take that as a compliment."

"It was."

"And you'll be alright, Banks. Trust me," their eyes met, just a few inches apart. "You might not feel like it now. But you're gonna be okay. And you're tough, tougher than most of those guys. Don't forget that."

She bit her lip for a moment, looking at his soft brown eyes. Then on an impulse, leaned in and kissed his cheek slowly. He felt a chill run all the way down his spine from the touch, and close his eyes. The moment seemed to last forever, though after a few seconds she pulled away and smiled.

"Thanks," she said very quietly.

"I got you."


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: It didn't take long for the outcomes of matches and storylines to start to divert from what actually happened, since this is so based on the WWE programing. So just know that any changes are strictly for the sake of the story, and have nothing to do with me not wanting someone to be champion. Lots of disclaimers in this story, huh?

XXX

They had landed in Dublin off of a red-eye in the early morning. By the time they arrived at the house show, Sasha was exhausted. Becky had been excited to show her and Charlotte her favorite city in Ireland. They'd walked along the Trinity College campus, and through the muddy park trails. She'd taken them to a tiny pub at lunch, where Sasha's potato soup came with a side of fries.

"When in Rome, huh?" She asked, popping an, admittedly delicious, fry in her mouth.

"Hey, how're you doing Sash?" Charlotte asked, picking at her salad.

"I'm okay. I mean,"

"Considering?" Charlotte looked at her sympathetically.

"Considering. It's good to be away, honestly."

"Hey, what was up with Seth comin' by last week?" Becky asked, she hadn't brought it up when she'd returned that night or since, but she took the opportunity here.

"Seth, as in Seth Rollins?"

"Yeah Seth Rollins, he came by our room after SmackDown last week." Becky said in between bites of her sandwich.

"Why?"

"That's what I'm askin' Sasha, if ya'd stop interrupting Charlotte."

"Sorry." She rolled her eyes and took a lengthy sip of her beer.

"Oh it was nothing, he just felt bad I guess. He's been there."

"I mean, kind of," Charlotte gave Becky a side eye.

"I'm sure it still hurt," she sighed heavily, "and I'm not really one to cast stones at the moment. It was a nice gesture, that's all."

"Yeah a very nice gesture," Charlotte smirked.

"What?"

"Nothing. It's just, you know, he's Seth Rollins, he has a bit of a reputation."

"It's not like that." Sasha shook her head.

"Do you want it to be?" Becky raised an eyebrow.

"Bex! It's been two weeks."

"They say dating's like a horse." She shrugged, "some people need to just get back on. And like having a little fun."

"I could think of worse guys than Seth to rebound on," Charlotte agreed.

She smiled slightly as the idea floated through her mind, but then shook her head.

"That's crazy."

XXX

The live show in Dublin that night had a fantastic crowd. Sasha and Paige had their rematch from the week before, and they were gelling better than they did last time. Creative was keeping Sasha on a run, she was hoping it would lead to a title reign sooner rather than later, and every match mattered. Paige nodded to her as Sasha's music hit at the end of their segment. She enjoyed the crowd for a moment before returning behind the curtain. Seth was there, waiting to go on for the main event.

"Hey," he grabbed her arm lightly, "Good match, Banks."

"Thanks,"

"Didn't I tell ya you'd be just fine?" he chuckled that annoying laugh, but it made her smile as she rolled her eyes.

"You gonna top that Rollins?"

He bit his lip and grinned at her, "Yeah, I'm gonna try."

"We'll see who they're talking about tomorrow."

"I guess we will." His music started, and taking his eyes off of her for the first time said, "gotta go."

She watched him saunter out to the ring, the belt on his shoulder. Her heart was beating faster, but she tried to ignore it as she met up with the others.

"Hey, good job," Charlotte said, braiding her wet hair from her match earlier in the night. The Diva's Championship sat in front of her on the table.

"The ladies have arrived, that's for sure" Paige said, coming up behind Sasha, "good work out there, Sash."

"You too."

"They better be pushing you hard after Survival Series," Paige said, a little bitterly, but hiding it well.

Sasha shrugged, "wish I knew."

"You guys payin' attention to this?" Becky interjected, nodding towards the monitor, a street fight between Kane and Seth.

Sasha settled into a chair next to her, it was a strong match. The title wouldn't change hands tonight, but Seth was a worker, he put 100% into everything he did. She always respected that about him. Suddenly, everything around her slowed down as she watched Seth's legs buckle underneath him. She gasped.

"Oh my god," Charlotte covered her mouth with her hand. Becky's eyes were wide.

"He's getting up, it's okay, he's up." Paige said breathing deeply, "God every time that happens to someone I see my own career just flash before my eyes."

"Yeah, really," Charlotte nodded.

"You alright Sash?" Becky raised an eyebrow

"Yeah, yeah, of course, what Paige said."

He finished the match, with a pedigree too. Sasha let herself breath easy, maybe he had just sold the move well for extra buzz. But when the bell rang and he held up the title, the wince on his face was undeniable. He didn't walk out on his own, instead leaning on the shoulder of one of the officials. Backstage was frantic, they had taken him right past her and into an ambulance to the local hospital. It was all anyone was talking about it as they packed up.

Back in the hotel she watched twitter carefully, waiting for an update. Eventually, it came, he'd torn his ACL, his MCL, and his meniscus, Seth was going home. Her heart sank. Part of her wanted to text him, but she didn't know where they stood. What kind of friends were they now? Were the other girls onto something when they asked her about what was between them? She didn't want to come off clingy just because he'd bought her ice cream one time. That didn't mean anything.

XXX

Two days later everyone was talking about how Seth was undergoing surgery to repair his knee. They had a show to put on, but Sasha could barely focus. The title had already been announced as vacant, and the lack of a champion was affecting everyone. There was a nervous energy backstage. When the show was over, Sasha found herself staring at her phone in the hotel room. Becky had gone out with Brie and Paige, she didn't question it theses days when Sasha wasn't in the mood to tag along. Finally, what she'd been waiting for popped up on her screen. A tweet from Rollin's account, saying his surgery had been successful and thanking the fans for their support. She pulled up his contact and hesitated for a moment, but eventually pushed call.

It rang for a minute, and then a groggy voice came over the other end.

"Saaasha Banks, to what do I owe the pleasure?"

"Oh, Seth, hey."

"Listen, they have me pretty doped up here, but I'm pretty sure you called me."

"No, no I did, I just thought I'd get your voicemail. I was, uh, planning on leaving you a message."

"Well, ya got the real deal, kid."

"I just…"

"Yeah?"

"I was just checking in," she stared up at the ceiling of the hotel. "Wanted to make sure you were doing okay."

"Aren't you sweet... Ha ha ha. I'm glad you called."

"Is that right?"

"Yeah, really glad. You've worn my socks, that's a lifelong bond right there."

"I'm wearing them right now," she said with a laugh, looking at the knee-high socks on her legs.

"What- dammit Banks! I knew you stole them."

"They're so comfortable!"

"Why are girls always stealing our clothes huh?"

"I can't help you with that mystery of the world."

"Well, keep 'em. They look better on you."

"They're socks." She tried to dismiss the flirtation, he was clearly not thinking through the words that were coming out of his mouth.

"Will you just-" he let out a chuckle as she burst out laughing.

"Are you doing better?" he asked, "you sound better."

"I'll be okay. I'm not the one who just straight up destroyed my knee."

"I'll be back."

"I know you will."

"Hey, again, super doped up right now, but what time is it in Europe?"

"Uh, it's about…" she glanced over at the clock and blushed, "3am."

"Banks. Flattered, really, but go to bed."

"I just needed to make sure you were okay."

"I am. I'll text you tomorrow, yeah?"

"Deal."

"Goodnight, Sasha."

"Goodnight."

XXX

Somewhere between Seth's injury and Sasha's program with Becky and Charlotte, the pieces started to fall into place. When they crowned a new champion at Survivor Series, she called him as soon as she got back to the hotel. He tried not to let the disappointment show in his voice.

"It needed to be done," he said.

"They miss you here, you should see the signs."

Weeks later at the Royal Rumble, the women's division was on the rise. Becky faced Charlotte for the Diva's title, but they'd taken Sasha off programing for a while to build hype. Her phone rang when she didn't show up at the Rumble.

"I just hope they don't bail on me," she explained the current creative plan that would start tomorrow in the fallout to the pay-per-view.

"They won't, they're smarter than that."

"You know as well as I do that's not always how this works."

"You're undefeated in WWE, there's a reason for that."

"I hope you're right."

"I'm always right."

"Alright, Rollins."

It went on like that for nearly 4 months, in fact, they spent a most nights talking on the phone. He was lonely, she could tell, and recently she'd found herself reclusive. Her friends didn't mind, they knew how to give her space. Rollins wouldn't be gotten rid of so easily. At first it was light, talking about work and their favorite matches of all time, about movies and her trying to talk him into trying anime. Then slowly they talked about more, about his breakup, her break up, his injury, her fears. By the time they got to Dallas, it seemed weird that she was ever unsure that they were friends.

He spotted her at Hall of Fame, waving to her from his seat. It made him smile to see her, she looked happy, and she looked good. She was beaming next to her cousin at the step and repeat, dressed in a slinky black dress that hugged all her curves. He took a deep breath and tried to avoid staring at her when she took her seat a few rows ahead of him. There were plenty of people he was excited to see, but his eyes kept finding their way back to the curve of Sasha's neck. Eventually, the ceremony ended and he found himself searching for her in the after-party.

"Hi," came a voice from behind him, he jumped in the air and spun to find her standing with two champagne flutes and a grin on her face. "Sorry, you okay?"

"Jesus, you scared me. That for me?" he asked and she nodded, "All is forgiven."

"How are you?"

"I don't want to talk about me, how are you?"

"Well, I'm…"

"About to have the biggest match of your career," he finished the sentence for her, finding a bench to rest his knee.

"Yeah, it's…"

"I'm proud of you, Banks. You set out to put women's wrestling on the map here, and you did. No one's worked harder. This is your WrestleMania."

Her eyes fluttered towards him, taking on a sad look, "Sorry."

"Didn't I say I didn't want to talk about me?"

"I'm not a very good listener."

"I've noticed. Yeah, okay. This was supposed to be my WrestleMania. And that sucks."

She tilted her head and sighed, "There will be others Seth, you'll have it one day."

"Yeah. One day."

It would not be his WrestleMania, but it would be hers. The revealed the new title on the preshow, and Sasha watched, teary eyed, as Lita unveiled it. Snoop agreed to perform her entrance for her, and confetti rained from the sky. On the way down, she passed by Seth standing in the front row, he smiled at her, but didn't say anything. When it came down to the bell, Sasha had Charlotte in the Bank Statement and felt tears rushing down her face as the crowd cheered and fireworks exploded outside. She held the new title up high as she left Charlotte and Becky in the ring, hardly able to contain herself. She wasn't one to call many things "magical," but that night was one of them.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Disclaimer from last chapter carries over, not trying to take anything away from anyone, just need certain things to happen for the story to work.

XXX

Seth's tour bus pulled into the arena the night of Payback, and he started pacing up and down the narrow hallway. Hunter came by to let him know the plan, they needed to keep him hidden until the last possible moment in case someone saw him backstage. It was a waiting game until the main event started.

"Don't get too cagey," Hunter said with a grin on his way out the door.

"Yeah, thanks Trips." Seth collapsed on the cushy couch and tried to just focus on the earlier matches on the show.

They opened with Enzo taking a scary spill and being carted off to the hospital, Seth felt his heart plummet watching it. There was a certain level of empathy that came with the territory of their work, and it made his knee twinge.

Charlotte and Natalya were next, they'd been running circles around each other since Sasha had taken the belt off of Charlotte. Natalya felt that someone needed to remind Charlotte who she was before she was the champion. In his time off, he'd seen that division really come into its own, he couldn't remember the last time they had two such high profile women's matches on a pay per view. He reached for his phone to text Sasha about it, but hesitated, and put it back down.

The Miz and Cesaro, Dean Ambrose and Chris Jericho, the matches dragged by slowly. Sami Zyan and Kevin had a huge blow off match, and while Seth was happy to see his friends steal the show, he was getting impatient now. There was only one match left before the main event.

Becky came out with her smoke machines and the crowd on their feet. Sasha's music hit to one of the biggest pops of the night, and she came out beaming, holding the red belt high in the air. It looked like a real title, like something that really mattered, and it looked like a million bucks on Sasha's shoulder. She walked with a confidence that he'd never quite seen in his life, it always brightened his day when she came across his screen. He smiled as she did her signature pose and handed the belt to the ref.

A knock came at the door of his tour bus, and a crewmember led him to the backstage. Hunter and some others were watching the match right beside the curtain.

"They're killing it tonight," he commented as Seth came up next to him.

"Never any doubt they would."

"I actually wanna talk to you about some creative options for when you get that thing back next month."

"Is that set in stone?" Seth crossed his arms, things changed too quickly in this business, you could never rely on any of it.

"About as much, we're aiming for you and me at Summer Slam, Dean to take it off you at Rumble, and Shield triple threat at Mania."

"Tentatively?"

"Well, yeah, always."

"Alright, what do the girls have to do with that?"

"I wanna put you in a program with Sasha."

His stomach did a backflip.

"With Sasha? Oh god Hunter, I hate romance angles."

"It doesn't have to be a romance angle, necessarily. I mean, it helps,"

"What helps?"

"You two have… chemistry. Oh, don't give me that look, I just think you'll work well together."

"I'm not doing a romance angle."

"Okay, okay, I wanna see if we can pull off something like Steph and Jericho back in the day. Think you can manage a feud without laying a hang on her?"

He felt his face flush a bit, and hoped Hunter wouldn't notice.

"Of course I can."

"Well, alright, we'll talk about it closer to Money in the Bank."

The bell rang on the screen. Sasha lifted the belt into the air shouting _that's right_ at the crowd. Seth hung back a little bit as she came through the curtain. A few people told her good match and she smiled and nodded, but she stopped when she saw him. He waved at her, feeling the flush in his face return.

"Hey stranger," she walked up to him, the title on her shoulder.

"Hey, I uh, I wanted to let you know I'd be here but, I couldn't tell anyone."

"No, yeah, of course."

"Good match out there. Hunter's impressed, don't tell him I told you."

She grinned, "lips are sealed."

 _God I hope not._ He shook off that weird feeling and just smiled, Roman's music was hitting in the background.

"You're dressed," she commented

"What?"

"I mean, you're dressed to fight," she was blushing a little bit now too, "You're returning tonight?"

"Yeah, I am." He realized it hadn't quite hit him yet, he was returning tonight.

"Good luck," she smiled slyly at him and walked off to the locker room, he watched her, sighing.

XXX

"Hey champ," Seth said, as Sasha walked up to where he was sitting in the stands of the empty arena three weeks later. She had a match tonight so she was dressed casually, her purple hair falling lightly to one side. Effortless was always her specialty.

"Hey Rollins, any sign of him?"

"Nah I'm sure he got caught up on something, somewhere."

"Typical." She sat down next to him in the stands, watching the ring crew work on the build.

"So you enjoying the Summer of Sasha?"

"Ha, yeah I saw you jumped on that hashtag on twitter."

"Not just me, everyone. You've taken over."

She beamed "It's been pretty great."

"You look happy."

"I am, I am happy."

He smiled at her, everyone knew how hard Sasha had worked from the moment she got to the performance center.

"Sorry I'm late," Hunter shuffled into the row behind them.

"Tick tock H, the champ doesn't have all day here," he smirked, making her laugh.

"Ah, knock it off. Sasha, are you up to speed?"

"Uh, no…"

"Oh was that my job?"

"Why do we keep you around Rollins? Alright, Seth's winning the belt back at Money in the Bank on Sunday."

"Oh wow, that's awesome." She beamed at him, sending a slight chill down his spine.

"So we want to work an angle with the two of you, a feud for the top of the mountain."

"The two of us?"

"Yeah, we're not really at a point where we can pit you against each other in the ring,"

"Why?" she tilted her head and smirked at Seth, "I can take him."

"Yeah, we're not there right now," Hunter dismissed it out of hand. "But, Sasha Banks is on this massive journey to bring the women's division up to the same level. You're trying to prove that that belt means as just as much as his does."

"I am."

"And the WWE World Heavyweight Champion, Seth Rollins, is in your way."

She was nodding with a sly smile. "I dig it."

"It's a fight for dominance, for that main event spot," Seth said, grinning too. If they pulled it off it could define both of their careers and catapult the women's division forward. It would be huge.

"I promised Seth we wouldn't put any romance in it."

"Oh." She seemed taken aback at first, "of course. That's better."

"I ain't kissing ya, Banks."

She met his eye and laughed. "This is… more progressive."

"I'm hoping that it'll give the crowd an opportunity to show they're behind the women's revolution," Hunter said. "But the story is up to you two."

"I think the story writes itself," he said, leaning back in his chair, his eyes locked on Sasha. "She's never been beat, on a technicality, and I've never lost my title, on a technicality."

"Two sides of the same coin." She grinned at him.

XXX

Monday night he sat waiting backstage, holding tightly onto the championship belt. It seemed silly to miss something that much, but nothing in this business made much sense. She caught his eye the moment she walked in from hair and makeup, he wondered how he managed to keep his jaw from hitting the floor. The belt was low on her waist across a lace dress that seemed to float as she walked. The top of it was strappy and low cut, with a mass of waves falling over her shoulders.

"Hey champ," she said, beaming, "ready for this?"

"Really Banks?" He bit his lip, "you're not allowed to milk sympathy from the crowd by dressing hot, it's cheating."

She blushed deeply, feeling her heart beating out of her chest. "Oh I-"

"I'm teasing. You look great. Like you could probably stab me in the eye with those shoes."

"I probably could."

"I'll watch myself then. You excited?"

"A little nervous, honestly," she pushed herself up to the crate he was sitting on.

"Don't worry about it, I got your back."

"I just keep thinking… what if this flops?"

"It won't."

"But what if it does?"

"Then we'll turn it into some cheap romance angle and move on."

"Thought you refused to kiss me?" her eyes were lighting up.

"I'll take one for the team."

She laughed and pushed him playfully. On the monitor they cut to commercial, and Seth kissed her quickly on the cheek, making her roll her eyes at him.

"That's my cue, see you out there."

His music hit and he walked out with his belt around his waist. There was an immediate pop, followed by boos once people remembered who he was.

"Ha ha ha." That evil laugh always got them going. "I'm baaaack. That's right, Seth Rollins is back baby, and he's once again, your WWE World Heavyweight Champion! I told you guys, I told you nothing was going to stop me, certainly not Roman Reigns. Reigns was only champion because I wasn't here, he's a placeholder, and he's a knock off. What did I tell you guys? I came back, better than ever, and I reclaimed my throne. Oh, and if you think for one second Ambrose scares me because he's Mr. Money in the Bank, Ha! He's not half the Mr. Money in the Bank I was, he doesn't have what it takes to make it to the top. No, no there is no one back there in that locker room who is knocking me off this mountain and that is a promise, boys."

The beat hit. It took a moment into the lyrics for the crowd to realize who it was, it was clear they weren't expecting her. When she came out, the confidence seemed to drip off of her, and the audience was going crazy. She smirked at him as he kept a confused, surprised look on his face. He wanted to hold the ropes for her, nervous she'd slip in the high heels and full skirt, but she managed just fine, giving her hair a flip as she made eye contact with him.

"I'm sorry, are you lost?" He put as much of a condescending tone in his voice as he could.

"Oh calm down Rollins, what, did Papa Triple H never teach you how to share?"

"What are you doing in my ring, Banks?"

"Oh your ring? My bad, you know what, you're right, I was looking for MY ring…" she looked around a few times "Yeah no, this is it."

He bit his lip as the crowd erupted. She was good.

"Excuse me?"

"This is MY ring now, Rollins, I am the greatest champion to ever set foot in a WWE ring, and I own it every time I step inside it. So I don't appreciate some sniffling brat coming in here and treading on that good work."

"Oh, I see I see," he started circling her. "You think because you got a big WrestleMania moment with your fancy new belt, that you're the queen around here."

"Ding ding ding. Someone's been paying attention."

"Ha ha ha, man you give a girl one main event and suddenly she thinks she can play with the big boys. What're you gonna do Sasha? You wanna fight me for my title? You wanna be World Heavyweight Campion?" he asked mockingly.

"Not really," she wrinkled her nose, "that's so typical, you just assume your title inherently means more. I'll tell you what I want Rollins: I want your spot, I want the top of that mountain, I want all these people to know that you and me, we're equals."

She took a step towards him, his brow furrowed now.

"There's only room for one person up there," he said.

"Exactly." Their noses were almost touching. There was a moment of heat between the two of them, she was playing it up well and the crowd was eating it up. Hunter was right, the chemistry between them didn't hurt.

"Ha ha ha. Take your best shot, Banks. Run your little crusade. Maybe you'll even fool a few of those idoits. But you know as well as me, you'll still be a **Diva**."

Her hand came into contact with his cheek at lightning speed. It sent him staggering back, and dropping his mic, which was actually a good thing considering how much he cursed. He was shocked, it wasn't something they'd talked about ahead of time, but neither was the Diva comment. He leaned into the surprise on his face, trying to find an expression that still let him leave looking strong. Her music started playing again and she walked out of the ring with her head held high.

XXX

"That was amazing!" She was waiting for him on the other side of the curtain, flinging her arms around him. There was a mass of wrestlers, male and female surrounding them, excitedly.

"Ha ha ha, you were amazing," he grinned down at her, "I told you I had your back."

Hunter came over to shake his hand, "good work, both of you, keep that up and you'll be all anyone talks about."

"Thanks man," he pushed his hand to his ear, pulling on it slightly. The adrenaline was fading and he was slowly becoming aware of how much his face hurt. "Maybe not keep up the slaps though?"

"Sorry," she said with a devious smile. "You deserved it."

"I thought the Diva comment was a stroke a brilliance, personally." He scoffed, but kept his eyes on her expression. He'd probably end up saying a lot of things in this feud that would hurt her feelings.

"And I thought so was slapping you, personally," she said, mocking him.

"Is your ear okay?" asked Hunter.

"Uhm, it's kinda buzzing…"

"Go to the doc, she could've ruptured your eardrum."

XXX

"You alright?" She caught up to him outside the trainer's room, with an ice pack the side of his face.

"You got a wicked slap there. Did you leave a mark?"

"Let me see," she sat close to him and pulled the ice pack down, measuring her hand against it, "yep that's about right."

"Oh, shut up." He pulled her hand down and she laughed. It sent electricity running between them.

"I'm sorry, I will try not to injure you in the future."

He sighed "Then I guess I can forgive you."

"Be still my heart," she joked, but it actually was beating out of her chest. She wondered if he could feel it, they were sitting so close.

"Hey, you know, the others, they're great and all, but there's no one I'd rather be in this with. You're a worthy opponent, Banks… and a good friend. I never said thank you for… everything the past few months."

"You didn't have to."

"Doesn't matter. If someone has to rupture my eardrum, I'm glad that it's you."

Her smile was so bright, he didn't know how he managed to get through the promo without breaking out in a grin. She kissed the red skin of his cheek before walking off, leaving him smiling to himself.


	4. Chapter 4

Seth sauntered down the ramp the following week on RAW. He enjoyed the out pour of boos as he made his way to the announce desk. He reclined in the chair next to JBL, adjusting his headset.

"We're joined here by the WWE World Heavyweight Champion Seth Rollins," Michael Cole recited the lines, "Seth, would you like to tell us why you're out here?"

"Well Michael," he scoffed as Sasha's music started and she emerged from behind the curtain, holding her title, and her head, up high. "If you hadn't noticed, Sasha Banks seems to have a little bone to pick with me."

"She called you out last week on RAW,"

"She interrupted me is what she did. And you don't interrupt the King."

"Sasha seems to think she's the Queen," commented JBL, "but you both don't seem interested in ruling side by side."

"No." Seth watched intently as Sasha started a brutal beat down on Summer Rae.

"I have to say Seth," Michael Cole prodded, "I don't totally understand **why** you came out here to watch her match"

"She slapped me, right in the middle of my ring."

"So what? You've taken bigger hits haven't you?"

"Michael, Sasha Banks wanted my attention, yeah? Well she's got it."

Sasha looked over at him as she tied Summer up in the ropes. She winked before slamming her knees into Summer's stomach. He felt his face flush as the commentary team pointed it out to the audience. She pinned Summer in the middle of the ring and held her title up, staring him down. He got to his feet, trying to keep the cool across his face, and held his up as well.

"I'd certainly say she's got your attention Rollins."

XXX

A knock came at the locker room door as Sasha packed up her gear.

"Yeah," she called, not looking up from her bags.

Seth opened the door and leaned against the wall.

"Hey. Nice work out there,"

"Ha thanks," she glanced up, her curls bouncing lightly.

"So are you trying to play with the crowd, or just rile me up?"

"If you get that riled up over a wink, you have a bigger problem than me."

"Ha ha ha. Alright, alright," He sat on the other side of the bench, "Listen I was hoping we could talk shop soon and try to pound out what we can story wise?"

"Yeah, that'd be really helpful. I think I'm tagging along with the New Day boys so we won't make it to El Paso until morning, but maybe tomorrow before the show?"

"That's like six hours, that'll be a nightmare in the back of the New Day's van."

"Hey now, not all of us are making enough to afford that monstrosity of a tour bus."

"Well yeah but…"

"I've done just fine on less sleep." She stood up, riffling through her handbag looking for her phone.

"Why don't you come with me?"

"With you?"

"I got plenty of room, like you said it's a monstrosity. I'll cook, and we'll talk, and then you can actually get a full night's sleep. You'll feel better for it, I promise."

She paused, biting on her lip, and trying to read his expression. "Yeah, okay."

XXX

"You eat chicken, right?"

"Uh, yes," Sasha dropped her duffle bag on the couch and slipped into the dining booth.

"Alright I was thinking a teriyaki skillet, it'll be like 20 minutes?"

"Okay, sure. I didn't know you cooked."

"When I bought this thing I figured I might as well buckle down and learn. It's a lot better than all that frozen stuff," he said to her over his shoulder at the stovetop.

"Yeah it gets to me sometimes."

"So what do you want to do?"

"Hmm?" she blushed a little, and that made him grin.

"For the program?"

"Oh, well in a perfect world, we'd run this through the fall, ending with a co-main event where I'd go over-"

"Of course," he scoffed.

"The thing is, I'm worried about pinning too much on booking that we can't control."

"Smart. But I say we go for it. Attack it straight on. They'll only give us as much as we earn."

She nodded, "Alright, then I should be the one provoking you, she's the one who has something to gain."

"Definitely. It's not hard to get in his head. You should come out swinging and I'll react."

"I love playing the aggressor," she said with a smile, she was in her element.

"Are we, uh," he looked back at her again, "gonna use the tension or no?"

"The tension?"

"I'm just saying, you went there."

"I did not go there. You just read into it too much."

"Okay fine, but are we gonna use it? Trips said it himself, we've got chemistry"

She sighed, "I don't wanna cheapen it."

"Okay."

"But,"

"But?" he looked over his shoulder, smirking.

"I also don't want to leave story on the table. This has to work, Seth. I need this to work."

"I'll do whatever you want. But I think dancing around it won't take away from the core and it'll give people what they're expecting."

"Uh huh, nothing to do with flirting with me on camera?"

"Nothing at all Banks, nothing at all." He smiled to himself as he finished dinner and passed her a plate with another wink. "It'll be fun."

They sat talking through everything they could think of, every possible angle and every potential roadblock. Pages upon pages of Seth's softcover notebook were filled by the time they ran out of things to say. He looked over at his phone and realized the time.

"Oh shit, it's 2am."

"That explains why I'm so exhausted. You satisfied Mr. Storytelling?"

"For now. Um so, that's supposed to be a pull out," he nodded over to the sofa between the kitchen and the bedroom. "But honestly I've never tried it…and I don't have extra sheets."

She laughed and rolled her eyes at him, rifling through her duffle bag for pajamas.

"I don't have a lot of guests in here! You're, um, you're welcome to bunk with me if you want to," his face turned red as she made eye contact with him, "The bed's huge, won't even need to touch. I wear clothes, promise."

She paused for a moment, biting her lip, "okay."

He kept to the far side of the king sized bed. She was more than an arms length away, but that didn't stop his heart from speeding up as she climbed under his sheets. He shook it off, turning away and closing his eyes. They must've driven right into a storm, because suddenly thunder boomed above them.

"Fuck." He buried his face in his pillow.

"What? You're not afraid of thunderstorms are you?" The smile in her voice was unmistakable.

"No! They just make it hard to sleep."

"Uh huh."

"And also can kill people, look it up."

She laughed, "I love the sound of storms in bed. I mean, not like **in bed** , just like…in bed."

'Riiight." He turned over to face her, watching her laugh as her tangled hair fell over the pillows.

Lightning flashed again, and he looked over at the bus window, sighing heavily.

"What's up? You seem far away all of a sudden."

"I uh… Jenna called. Last night."

"Ex-fiancé Jenna?"

"Yeah."

"Oh…"

"She wants to get coffee next time I'm home…"

"Are you going to?"

"I don't know." He looked over at Sasha, her eyes were soft and sympathetic. "Do you think I should?"

"Seth, I couldn't possibly tell you what to do here."

"I know, I know, just…what do you think?"

"Honestly?" She sighed as he nodded, "I think you owe her that much."

He got defensive immediately. "She got her revenge just fine. I almost lost my job."

"Oh you did not, you're the OG Triple H guy, he wasn't going to let you go over-" she trailed off.

"Nudes?"

Even in the darkened room, he could see her blushing, "yeah, that. Look, I'm sure there was plenty of blame to go around, there always is. But you're kind of the most at fault."

"You barely even know what actually happened," he shot back, grumpily.

"You asked for my opinion," she reminded him sternly, "And I think you owe her a cup of coffee, hear what she has to say."

He let out another sigh. "She never called. When I got hurt. I was in the same town as her for nearly 6 straight months. Nothing. Just silence."

"I'm sorry. You think she knew?"

"Yeah she knew. We have all the same friends. Even ran into her at the grocery store early on, with my mom nonetheless."

"Oooh."

"Yeah it was…mad awkward. I don't know if she really didn't care…but she sure acted like it."

"That's rough…"

"But you still think I should get coffee with her, don't you?" he met her gaze from across the bed.

"Yeah, I do."

"Okay. Then I will."

XXX

She was restless most of the night, it felt good to have a real bed, but she'd gotten accustom to the backseat of vans. Tossing and turning, she found herself rolling into the middle of the bed, knocking into Seth. He'd tried to stay on the edge in the beginning of the night, but was probably very used to having it all to himself. He stirred in his sleep, groaning and turning over to his stomach, an arm falling around her waist. It surprised her, but she scooted closer, feeling his breath on her skin. In his sleep he held her tighter, nuzzling his head by her neck. The ends of his beard tickled her shoulder, and she closed her eyes peacefully.

They awoke in the early morning when the bus came to a halt. She opened her eyes to find his arms still around her and their heads still just a few inches apart. He yawned and his eyes fluttered open.

"Oh…hey, morning" He chuckled lightly as his eyes scanned her up and down, becoming aware of their positions.

"Hey um," she sat up and pushed her hair to one side as he pulled his arms away from her.

"I'm not quite sure how that happened," he smiled slyly as she blushed heavily, "that wasn't my intention."

"Yeah, sure."

"You smell nice though," he said as he propped himself up on his elbows.

"Thanks," she rolled her eyes. "Um… you were right. About there being a lot of lonely nights. I didn't realize how much I missed that."

He rubbed her shoulder gently, "I know. I know, Banks." Seeing that her lip was quivering, he leaned up to kiss her on the cheek. "We should get going."

They checked into the hotel and rode the elevator up, not speaking. As he rolled his suitcase out of the elevator, he glanced back at her, smiling sweetly.

"See ya later, Banks." The doors closed and Sasha let out a big sigh and a bit of a laugh. It was stupid, she knew it, but whatever there was between her and Seth, it felt…solid.

When she snuck into her dark hotel room, she tiptoed into bed, trying to not to wake Becky who had left from the show sooner. Curling up in the sheets, the bed suddenly felt massive and empty.

XXX

"Have a good night?" Becky asked with an eyebrow raise, she sat across from Sasha at hair and makeup, getting her intricate braids put in.

"Yeah, I mean, fine. He's actually an okay chef."

"He cooked you dinner?"

"Well, yeah, not like, that. Just like he was making dinner and made me some."

"Uh huh. Where'd you sleep?"

"What?"

"Just askin', where'd you sleep?"

"On the pull out couch. What's with the third degree Bex?"

"Oh I had to ask, ya know that." She grinned.

"Nothing happened."

"Alright I believe you."

"Good."

Becky looked at the time on her phone, "I gotta get to this interview. D'ya know what seg you're on tonight?"

"Yeah, commentary on main for Seth and Cesaro."

"Haaave fun," she said, walking off.

As Becky got to the room they'd set up the interviews in, she saw Seth waiting alone and sipping on a paper cup of coffee.

"Hey Seth," She said quietly, trying not to disturb the New Day as they talked about whether they wanted to go to SmackDown or Raw.

"Hey Becky, how're ya?"

"Good, good."

"Finn doing good?"

"Yeah, last we talked."

"It was fun hanging out with him when he was on that loop."

"He's a fun lad," she said with a smile.

"Yeah, it was cool having someone around."

"Well, I mean ya got Sasha around these days,"

He nodded, blushing slightly. "Banks is great. She's a pro."

"Yeah I heard ya two made some big plans for your program"

"Mmm," he said through a gulp of his coffee, "it's gonna be fantastic."

"Where'd she end up sleeping?"

"Sorry?"

"Just curious." She shrugged. He looked like a deer in headlights for a moment.

"There's a pull out couch. I took it and let her have the bed."

"Very thoughtful."

They stared at each other for a moment, before one of the crew members called to Seth that it was his turn.

XXX

The show was winding down as Seth left the locker room in his gear and merch shirt. He walked passed a group of the Total Divas cast gathered together and laughing as a camera pointed at them. Further down the hall, Xavier, Big E and Tyler Breeze were loudly debating something, and they waved as he went by.

Triple H caught up to him as he stopped to take stock of one of the monitors.

"Seth, I'm glad I ran into you,"

"Hey Hunter, busy night?"

"I'll say. Listen, I know we were hoping to build to SummerSlam with me and you,"

"Yeah?" He didn't like where this was going.

"But we're changing the program."

"Really? I was looking forward to that."

"And we'll do it, eventually. Look," he glanced over his shoulder, "with the brand extension and everything, I just can't be on TV right now. There's too much there. Our family's delicate enough as it is."

"Yeah I get it. "

"We'll move the Shield Triple Threat up instead."

"Wait. Dean was going over in that match."

"Sorry, Seth."

"What about Sasha?"

"What?"

He shifted his weight, anxiously. "What does that do to that groundbreaking feud you wanted? We planned out three months of programming! She's about to be on commentary on my match!"

Hunter sighed, "if you can find a way, we can try to make it work. But management is more invested in the championship and brand extension than they are with that. It was bad timing I guess."

On the monitor they cut to commercial.

"I gotta go Hunter,"

"Alright, have a good match."

In guerrilla, she was waiting for her cue in sky-high heels, skinny jeans, and the red belt around her waist. He felt his heart drop into his stomach seeing her, she was so excited.

"Hey boss,"

"Ready for this?" She grinned at him, and he didn't have the heart to tell her that the program would probably be off.

"Yeah. Hey, you know, if you ever get tired of sleeping in the back of vans,"

She laughed, "it's okay, really."

"Well if you do, you're welcome any time."

"Thanks, I might just take you up on that." Her music hit and she smiled at him as she walked out to the ramp.

She settled into the commentary desk, slipping the headset on to her head.

"The lovely Sasha Banks is joining us here on commentary," Mauro Ranallo's voice came through the headset. "Sasha, how're you tonight"

"I'm fantastic, thanks. I'm looking forward to watching Seth Rollins get punched in the face."

Seth made his entrance next, riling up the crowd with his evil little laugh. He pulled off his shirt and tossed it into the crowd, flexing as he did it. Her stomach did a bit of a backflip, but she ignored it.

"I assume that's why you're out here tonight?" JBL asked, "We had Seth join us during your match with Summer Rae earlier in the week. What's your beef with Seth Rollins?"

The bell rang and him and Cesaro locked up.

"What's my beef?" she laughed, "Seth Rollins walks around this place calling himself the king. The king of WWE! Well some leader he's been, cheating, wining, crying to the authority when he doesn't get his way."

In the ring, they were chain wrestling, struggling to get the upper hand. Mauro called the spots until they got into a rest hold.

"Sounds like you think some new leadership might be in order, Sasha."

"That's exactly what I think. And with the draft coming up, I think this is the perfect time for someone to knock King Rollins off of his throne."

"Roman Reigns has a rematch against Rollins at Battleground, does your campaign extend to any World Heavyweight Champion?"

"It's what Seth Rollins represents, Mauro."

Cesaro had Seth in the swing, and when he hit the ground she visibly winced as he riled in pain. JBL looked over at her as her hand shot up to her mouth.

"You know Sasha, it seems like this vendetta against Rollins might be something personal."

She glared at him, watching Seth rally out of the corner of her eye.

"Everything is personal, John."

The bell rang, Seth had snuck in a roll up on Cesaro and was taunting the crowd. She stood, clapping sarcastically with a cold stare. He held his belt up, meeting her gaze, and winked before sauntering off. A chill ran through her spine, but she knew she'd brought that on herself.


	5. Chapter 5

A/n: Rating changed to M once I actually wrote the scene ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

XXX

It was the first SmackDown Live, the night of the draft. Sasha had another match with Dana and Charlotte, who had wormed their way back into the title conversation after Charlotte returned from vacation. She sat in the back with a sweatshirt covering her gear, watching the Superstars match on the monitor. Seth and Hunter wandered by and she waved.

"How're you tonight Sasha?" Hunter asked as Seth took the seat next to her. He wouldn't look at her.

"I'm great, excited for tonight," she said pleasantly.

"Good, look, I'm really sorry this thing didn't work out."

"What thing?" She looked over at Seth.

"I hadn't had the heart to tell her yet," he said guiltily.

"Tell me what?"

"I'm dropping the belt. To Dean, so it won't even be on the same show."

"We can try to do a few things with the two of you still," Hunter offered, "but without him having a title… it's probably not going to happen."

Her heart sank, she looked at Seth and his eyes were apologetic.

"What about the new one?"

"We have other plans," Hunter shook his head.

"I'm sorry, Banks." He looked back to Hunter, "can we get a seg to end it right? Then maybe we can come back to it later."

"Yeah that'd be good. We can add a few minutes to Sasha's segment."

"Okay, so, you're booked to lose right? I'll come out after they leave and rub it in your face, then I'll say I have bigger fish to fry and you should focus on finding a partner. That work?"

She nodded, blinking away tears.

"Works for me," Hunter "I'll tell the powers that be."

He walked off, leaving them there alone as the Raw theme started playing. Seth put a hand on her shoulder, rubbing it gently.

"Sorry."

She shook her head, "it was a pipe dream from the beginning."

"It was going to be great."

"They were never going to care about it as much as pushing a strong World Champ."

"You would've made them care."

"Well. Now it doesn't matter."

"We have one promo left, we can still make them regret it."

She didn't say anything, staring straight ahead as Stephanie announced the first draft pick "SETH ROLLINS."

"Number one draft pick," she smiled at him, "Still king of the mountain."

He kissed her quickly on the cheek and walked off to get his tshirt and do his interview.

XXX

At the guerilla Sasha pulled on her Raw tshirt as Hunter filled in Charlotte that Seth would be entering as she was making her exit. She looked back at Sasha with a sad look, but didn't say anything about it. Her music started and her and Dana made their way down to the ring.

"Hey," came a voice in Sasha's ear. She looked over at Seth, standing very close to her. "Go off script."

As her music hit, he backed up, nodding at her. She went out and had the handicap match as scheduled, but her mind was anywhere but in the ring. Dana and Charlotte ganged up on her at the end, laying her out in the middle of the mat. She sat up and ran her fingers through her hair as they walked up the ramp mocking her. _Here we go._

His theme made her heart skip for a moment, and she glared at the curtain, letting her frustration show. He came out in the same red tshirt, and nodded at Charlotte as she left them to it.

"Sasha, Sasha, Sasha." He shook his head, approaching the ring, "how are you supposed to knock me off my mountain when you can't even hold onto your little hill?"

She stood up and flipped her hair, crossing her arms and pursing her lips.

"The fact is, you can't. You've got your hands full with a match on Sunday. Not to mention it's shaping up to be another handicap unless you can find someone who doesn't find you insufferable, which I doubt."

He stood on the apron, locking eyes with her.

"And me, I have bigger fish to fry than you Banks. So it's looking like the last thing either of us need is to be bickering with each other." He stretched out his hand, his eyes daring her to make a move, "what do you say, truce?"

She stared at it for a moment, bit her lip, and then snatched the mic out of his hand. He reacted with shock, but his eyes twinkled.

"A truce? Why would ANYONE make a truce with you? You must have me confused with the chums in the back who hang on to every word their dear king has to say. I don't buy it, Rollins. You're a liar and a cheat. And you, you are running scared just like you always do."

He tried to grab the mic back but she turned on her heel, baiting him into the middle of the ring.

"I don't have time for this, Banks," he shouted, loud enough to get picked up on her mic.

"Oh of course you don't have time for this. What else is new, you and everyone else in that locker room still think we're just some side attraction. You don't see us as a credible threat to your spot, you don't see me as competition. This is just a distraction is it? Well, can't have that while you're main eventing pay per view after pay per view."

He was standing close to her now, the heat was rising between them. Anger flared in his eyes.

"So fine, run away, don't waste your time on some girl. I mean, I can't think of any sport where women are dominating, can you? Huh. Rest on your laurels Rollins, you and all the boys have been doing it for decades. Go and fry your bigger fish. But trust me, I will not be stopped."

She dropped the mic in the middle of the ring and walked out. Thousands of people were looking at her, cheering, but she could feel one set of eyes in particular. She turned and shot him a confident smirk, he was leaning against the ropes, looking dumbfounded.

When he came through the curtain, she was waiting for him. Her heart was racing and she grinned. He wrapped his arms around her laughing.

"I don't know where that came from," she said, smiling up at him.

"It was the truth," he shrugged, "that's some of the best material."

The next match had started, leaving them in a rare moment alone. He looked down at her, that infectious smile took up her face, and her passion was radiating off of her.

"I wish it wasn't the end, I'm so hyped about it."

"Yeah I know. You're really something else, you know that, Banks?"

She grinned at him, it was good to see her smile after the day she'd had.

"We should head back," she turned to go, and something in that moment cracked for him.

"Yeah, oh and Sasha?"

"Yeah?"

She turned around to find him right there, and suddenly his lips were against hers. They were soft but commanding, kissing her firmly. At first she gasped, but quickly relaxed into it, her hands finding their way to his bearded cheeks. His arms were around her waist, pulling her in closer. They broke apart after a moment that felt like an eternity. He blushed a little.

"Just, just that," he said before running off, unsure of what he just did.

XXX

He managed to avoid her the rest of the night, and frustrated she dragged her suitcase through the lobby of the hotel. The elevator dinged and Xavier stepped out, smiling as he saw her.

"Hey Boss, great promo tonight. I'm already seeing #SashasPipeBomb on Twitter."

"Someone needed to call it out. Hey do you know what room Seth's in? I borrowed something from him and forgot to give it back."

"Yeah uh, 1273, he's next to me," He looked down at his phone, "I don't think he's coming out tonight."

"I'll ask when I see him," she got on the elevator, and waved to him.

She dropped her luggage off in her room and got back on it, pushing level 12. Knocking on his door, she found herself twirling her waves around her fingers. He opened the door with a towel around his waist.

"Hey," he said nervously, "I was about to take a shower, uh come on in."

She followed him into the room, and he kept on walking into the bathroom.

"You're not avoiding this Rollins," she shouted after him.

"You can come in, doesn't bother me."

She pursed her lips, feeling her heart racing as she entered the bathroom. Behind foggy glass he was rinsing his long dark hair. She leaned up against the counter.

"What the hell was that?"

He sighed deeply, "I'm sorry, I got carried away with the story and everything that's happened…" he trailed off.

"I can't believe you did that at work."

"You kissed back," he shouted over the sound of the water, more confidently this time.

"What?"

He poked his head out from behind the door, "I felt it, you kissed back."

"Yeah I-"

"And I know we try really hard to keep things professional but you can't honestly tell me there hasn't been any flirtation on your end."

"Okay. Okay but,"

"And who snuggled up with me in my bed?"

"Fine. Fine, you win, but that doesn't uncomplicated this situation."

He sighed, then started to smile slyly. "Why don't you join me in here, and we can work it out."

"Work it out?"

He shrugged, "seems to be where this is headed."

She bit her lip, looking at that innocent smile. It turned into a grin as she kicked off her shoes and pulled her merch shirt over her head. In a moment she was stepping into the shower, the hot water running over her.

"Careful," he said, wrapping an arm around her waist and letting her wrap hers around his neck.

"This is crazy," she laughed as he pushed her up against the wall of the shower and kissed her neck.

"You know," he looked down at her, moving a wet strand of purple hair out of her face, "sounds like we both need to be a little crazy tonight."

She leaned in and kissed him deeply, giving into whatever was pent up between them. He laughed and pushed up against her, letting out a deep sigh as she relaxed into a moan.

"Yeah," he said, "this is what I needed."

His eyes grazed over her body hungrily, and he smirked when he saw she was doing it too.

"Am I living up to your fantasies?"

"I didn't really have to use my imagination, Rollins," she responded with a grin.

He blushed, and pushed against her again, throbbing. "You've looked at those pictures, haven't you?"

"The whole world has seen those pictures." She started squirming as he kissed her neck.

"Seeing and looking are two different things," he murmured in her ear, "I'd bet you have them saved somewhere."

She rolled her eyes, "don't get smug."

"Ha ha ha, I'm playing with you," he ran calloused finger tips down one side of her body, catching on the nipple, and making her moan. "How do you like it?"

Their eyes met, and she blushed before turning around and helping him push in from behind. He grinned to himself as her breath left her. Closing his eyes he focused on the feeling of her body and the sound of her moans.

XXX

Seth lay on the hotel bed, a towel wrapped around his waist, and watched as she hopped her tight jeans back up. Her hair fell in undone waves across her back and her mascara was smudged. As she leaned into the mirror above the dresser to wipe it off when she noticed him staring at her with a half smile.

"What?"

"Nothing," he said, it growing wider on his face. "That was just…unexpected."

She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, well." Turning back towards him she sat on the edge of the bed next to his open suitcase.

He stretched, leaning back on his hands, "I could go for unexpected round 2." He was met with a pair of boxer briefs thrown in his face. "Okay, okay."

"Now can we actually talk about this?" she asked after he'd pulled them up and discarded the towel.

"C'mere," he pulled her into his arms, her purple hair draping over one shoulder and onto his bare chest. She looked up at him, her expression unmoving.

He sighed. "What're you looking for Sasha?"

"Honestly…"she took a deep breath. "I'm not."

A pang ran through his chest, "I see."

"Seth I-"

"No, it's okay," he slid his shoulder out from under her head and stood up. "I had fun, you had fun. You had fun right?"

"Of course I-"

"So that's that," he started digging through the suitcase and pulled an old tshirt over his head. "I mean, I was feeling it and I thought you were feeling it,"

"I was feeling it."

"But if you got it out of your system then-"

"Will you shut up for five seconds Rollins?"

He looked up at her, speechless.

"I **just** got out of relationship. An engagement."

"That was six months ago."

"I was with Daryl for four years."

"And you've spent the last six months spending all of your time with me. Hanging out with **me** , flirting with **me** , kissing **me**. Was I crazy to believe something was happening here?"

"No but-"

"But what? What the hell are you afraid of Banks?"

"Is that honestly a serious question?" she said siting up and crossing her arms, hurt across her face."

"I want you, and you want me. So what's the issue? We're not directly working together anymore, and it's not like we're the only ones who are screwing around here."

"That's not-"

"Paige and Del Rio, Emma and Ryder,"

"Yeah I know, it's common,"

"Rene and Dean, Naomi and Uce, both Bellas-"

"I got it. This isn't about reputation. I'm just not ready for that leap again."

"We've known each other a while, you and me. Even before you came up. I made a point to be a part of your career because I knew you were something special, and I gotta say, I've never seen you scared of anything before."

"You don't get to tell me how to feel." She'd heard enough. "Thanks for the fun."

Grabbing her shoes, she stormed out of the hotel room. Seth called after her, trying to stop her and apologize, but she was already gone.


	6. Chapter 6

They hadn't spoken in nearly 5 days, and the cold shoulder was getting to Seth. He'd called her first thing the next morning, it rang twice and went to voicemail. He knew a text apology would only serve to piss her off, and a voicemail would quickly turn into a babbling mess.

 _I really want to talk to you,_ he eventually texted her on Saturday after the 4th screened call. _Please call me?_

She hadn't.

God it was a shit day. He sat by himself in catering, eating his dinner and pretending to scroll through his phone. She was at a table across the room, laughing with Becky, and Tyler.

"Hey champ," a voice said above him. He looked up to see Bayley, a plate in her hand and an apologetic smile on her face. "Rough week?"

"Just long…" he sighed at the look she was giving him, "what do you know?"

"Everything, usually."

"Great. Becky and Charlotte too?" He scratched his beard.

"No, just me. You two are so alike you know that? You let your heart do the talking before it consults with your brain."

"I would admit I was wrong if she would just talk to me."

Bayley tilted her head, her high ponytail slouching to one side, "I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you."

She smiled and walked off, sitting next to Sasha who had her back turned to their conversation. Becky looked over at him with a suspicious eyebrow raise.

Their match opened the show to a huge pop, and he watched as Sasha grinned when Bayley made her entrance. It was a great match, she looked confident, and she looked happy, but he couldn't really focus on the technicalities. He just kept watching the way her hair swung around and thinking about her lips forming a smile against his. _Fuck's sake, man, snap out of it!_ Seth Rollins was not one to long, he did not pine, and he did not yearn. Not over a girl. There'd been plenty of girls like Sasha before. She wasn't **that** special. Well, maybe she was, but he'd never admit it. What bugged him was that he'd had her in his hands and he'd just dropped the ball. Now all he wanted was just to make it right.

The bell rang and it snapped him out of his thoughts. Bayley and Sasha were holding their hands up high, but she was limping slightly as they celebrated. He thought about going to guerrilla, but decided that was probably the worst idea he'd ever had. Instead, he watched as they came through backstage, Sasha still limping a little bit. Bayley glanced over to him and smiled, nodding towards the trainer's room. He waited a minute, and then followed them there. Sasha was sitting on one of the tables with her back to the door, and Bayley was retrieving an ace bandage from the box.

"You alright?" he asked, leaning up against the doorway. He saw Sasha let out a breath as she looked over her shoulder.

"Just a rolled ankle, I'll be fine." She adjusted the icepack on her ankle.

"And someone needs to help her wrap it up," Bayley said with a smile, hand Seth the bandage on her way out.

Seth looked over at Sasha, and she sighed. "C'mon."

He positioned himself next to her on the table, letting her stretch her leg over his lap.

"I can't believe you recruited Bayley," her tone was playful enough.

"Pretty sure Bayley recruited me actually," he started wrapping the bandage around her foot. "What'd she say to you?"

"That I should at least hear whatever bone-headed explanation you had."

He snickered, "wow vote of confidence there."

"So, what is it?"

"You were right,"

"Obviously,"

"Easy, eeaasy," he me her gaze as his hand brushed against her leg, "we should've talked first, fucked second. I assumed you felt the same way I did, that you wanted the same thing, and I... was hurt when you said you didn't. I'm sorry."

"I jumped in there with you, I'll take my half of the blame… It felt good."

"It felt really good," he said with a smirk.

"But I don't know how to feel about you, Seth."

He bit his lip, "if I'm honest, me neither."

She turned his chin to meet her eyes. "Why'd we do this?"

"I was hoping to just muscle my way through it."

"That never works."

"I know. Sash, let's be real, I'm not the model of the modern prince charming. I know I get conflicted, I send mixed messages, and I act impulsively. Being with you isn't going stop me from doing that. But I **want** to be good to you, I really do."

She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek, her lips lingering longer than usual. He closed his eyes to the touch.

"We're okay. Maybe it was just too much too soon. Being together."

"We're probably better off as friends."

"Friends?"

"Flirtatious friends."

"Oh okay," she said with a devious giggle, "you scared me there for a second."

"You know," he said, hoping down from the table and offering her a hand, "if you ever have that itch, I'm happy to scratch it for you."

"And you?"

"Oh I always have that itch."

She smiled and walked off, he made his way back to the men's locker room to get ready for the match. He couldn't help smiling to himself. It was good enough for him.

When he opened the door, Sami Zyan and Kevin Owens were dressed in their gear, preparing for their match later in the card. Finn Balor, dressed in street clothes and one of Sami's tshirts, sat in a chair across from them.

"Hey guys,"

"Hey Seth," Sami barely looked over. Him and Kevin were animatedly discussing their plan.

"Good to see you Finn," he said, sitting down on the bench across from the Irishman and pulling out a pair of tights.

"Yeah you to. Hey, um," he glanced over at the other two, who were consumed in their conversation, "Seth, ya got a little somethin',"

Finn touched f his own left cheek and Seth's face flushed as he rubbed his cheek, feeling the dried lipstick on his hand. Looking down his fingertips were a deep tannish pink.

"Goddammit." He picked up a tissue from the counter, trying to rub it off as the boys continued to argue on the other side. Finn walked over, smirking.

"It's aiight."

"Don't tell anyone, okay?"

"Who would I tell? Honestly."

"Okay, don't tell Becky."

"Mate, I don' need to. She's been onto you two for a long ass time."

Seth tipped his head back and groaned. She was not going to respond well to the whole locker room finding out about them.

"But I won' confirm her suspicions. Jus' treat her right, yeah? Sasha's a good kid."

Sami was behind them suddenly.

"What about Sasha?"

"Her match with Bayley, it was really good." Finn offered.

"Yeah that was fantastic," Kevin said, wrapping his fists up, "you almost ready Sami?"

"Yep, let's go. See ya later, Seth,"

With that the three of them walked out of the locker room, Finn not looking back at him again.

XXX

He slumped back through the curtain as Dean's music played in the background. He'd cashed in just after Seth had laid Roman out with a Pedigree, beginning the surprise Shield Triple Threat. The crowd went wild, and it was great, he'd even gotten a Phoenix Splash onto both men at once, something that would earn him a spot in the highlight reel. But regardless, he was leaving without his championship, and it stung.

Hunter was waiting for him, but no Sasha. They hugged and he wandered around, eventually over to The New Day boys watching a dark match involving the Uso's on the screen. Sasha was there with her ankle lifted, it was clearly bugging her. They were on top of him the moment he walked over, they were good guys. Moments like that always made Seth feel a twinge of guilt for keeping his distance as often as he did.

"How're they fairing?"

"They're alright," Sasha said, "we think management is testing out the Revival for a quick call up soon."

"Hmm," he leaned on the back of one of the fold up chairs and watched as the match continued.

"Hey Seth," Sasha said, loud enough for everyone to hear, "could I grab a ride with you tonight? I should keep this elevated."

He looked over at her and she gave him a sweet smile. "Yeah, sure. Hope you like the pull out couch."

"Girl, you playing wifey?" Big E asked jokingly. She laughed it off, keeping it cool and trying to redirect them.

"What can I say, that thing's got HBO GO."

"So betrayed," Xavier teased, "I thought I was your only work husband. And now HBO GO and comfortable sleeping options are replacing me? Cold hearted, Boss."

"Step up your game Creed," Seth said with a little laugh.

XXX

"How many hours do we have?" she asked as she put her suitcase down in the bedroom.

"Uh…" he opened maps on his phone, "five. You wan anything to eat?"

"Nah I'm okay, think I just wanna crash."

"Sounds good, I'm gonna take a shower. Uh, you were gonna sleep…"

"Here," she said smiling shyly, laying down on his bed.

"Alright," he laughed.

In the en suite bathroom, he stepped under the hot water. Closing his eyes, he instantly flashed back to last week. He could almost feel her hands running over his chest again.

He finished his shower and wrapped a towel around his waist. Pulling his hair into a bun, he poked his head into the bedroom. In the dim light from the window, he could see she was curled up in his sheets. She was breathing calmly and her hair was tussled over his pillow. He tiptoed over to the dresser across from the bed, pulling out a pair of athletic shorts and boxers. Just as he'd pulled the towel off, he heard her voice behind him.

"Very smooth, Rollins."

He jumped and looked over his shoulder to see her smirking, staring directly at his bare ass.

"I thought you were asleep."

"Clearly."

"Oh c'mon, you can't even see anything, four eyes."

"I got the idea."

"Well I'm gonna put on pants now, unless…"

"Unless?"

"You don't want me to."

She laughed, "what happened to just friends?"

"Friends don't make friends go to bed thirsty."

Her giggle was music to her ears. He turned around and watched her eyes graze over his front.

"Say the word, Banks. Say it and I'm yours."

"Alright," she said with a smile. "What the hell."

He climbed into bed and on top of her, slipping her tshirt over her head. She pressed her lips to him, gasping as he cupped her in his hands.

"One condition," he said, nuzzling at her neck.

"Typical," she rolled her eyes. "What?"

"It's my turn, we did what you liked last time."

"And what do you like?" she challenged

"I'm a simple man. Hard, fast… loud." He grinned as she blushed.

"Then you better figure out how to make me scream," she said deviously.

"Oh challenge fucking accepted," he pulled down her shorts roughly and teased her with his fingers.

She panted as he rubbed her, their eyes meeting. Hers were wide and he smirked.

"I have half a mind to get you to beg for it."

"You'll be the one begging when I'm done with you, Rollins."

A massive smile broke out on his face as he pushed into her. Watching her squirm under his touch, he played around for a while, paying attention to where she reacted. She let out a loud, surprised moan and bit his lip.

"There it is."

She was breathing heavily, wound up, and as he pulled out he could tell she was plenty excited. He leaned into her ear and growled,

"Ride me."

"You're forgetting something," she sang.

"Right. Ride me, and I'll give it to you just right. That's a promise."

Her eyes lit up fiery, and she pushed him onto his back, climbing on top. She started slowly, making him bit his lip and buck up against her. A moan escaped her, and he pulled her down closer to get the angle he wanted.

"Oh yes…" she moaned "Right there."

"Yeah?

With her hovering right above his lips, he took advantage and ran his tongue over one of her nipples. She gasped and leaned into it.

"What did I tell ya? Just right."

XXX

She jolted awake as the bus came to a stop, it was still dark outside the window.

"Easy, it's okay." He ran his fingers through her hair.

Looking over at him, she smiled shyly. They were wrapped up in his tangled sheets, still naked. He passed her glasses over, and put on a pair of his own.

"Did you have a good time last night?"

"Yeah," she sat up, holding the sheet to her chest, "it was good,"

"Cause it sounded like you had a good time. You know all of the oooohs, oh oh oh," he started mimicking her moans and she took no time to slap him playfully.

"You're such a dick, Rollins."

It was very good, if she was honest. He had made good on his promise to give it to her just right. They managed to skip most of the awkward feeling each other out part. He had a way with the details. Fighting for control with him was fun, it kept her on her toes.

"You know I won anyway."

"Oh, I'm not denying that. I can admit when I've been beat. And that thing you did with your tongue there…" he licked his lips slowly, sending a pang of desire through her.

"There's more where that came from."

"Yeah?" he said leaning back on the pillows.

"No use fighting it. Let's just…" she sighed. "I'll always be honest with you if you'll always be honest with me. Deal?"

"Deal. So you want to be my…"

"Your flirtatious friend who you occasionally have super hot sex with?"

"That I can do."


	7. Chapter 7

"Seth, can we borrow you?" Hunter called to him as he walked past the office.

"Sure, what's up H?" he walked in to find Finn and Roman Reigns already in there. He nodded to them. "Boys."

"Just laying out the plan for the Universal Championship. We'll do two fatal four ways tonight followed by a one on one between these two in main. Then at SummerSlam Finn will fight you for the Championship. You'll be a number one contender of sorts."

"And he's going over?"

Finn shrugged, smiling.

"Yeah, Finn's going over."

"Congrats man," he tried not to show the disappointment on his face. Finn was a good worker. But that didn't stop him from missing being champ, and it had been one day.

"Roman you good with everything?"

"I'm cool," he said coldly. He wasn't happy about taking the pin last night.

"Alright so Seth, you know the drill. Entitled, bratty-"

"Yeah, yeah."

"But maybe," Hunter was thinking out loud, "play up that you're jealous of new kid?"

"Like Woody when he met Buzz Lightyear?" Finn offered with a goofy smile. Seth snickered.

"Just like that. Okay I gotta run, I have to talk to the women about theirs."

They all walked out of the office, Hunter and Roman heading in one direction, and Seth and Finn towards the locker room.

"Ya wanna go over programming notes some time? Hunter told me that the Demon angle is up to us."

"Yeah, sure. You should use it though, I can take the Demon lightly, make it a big thing when you debut it."

"What, no invitation to spend the night on ya tour bus? I'm hurt." Finn laughed to himself.

"That's not funny."

"Oh it's a riot."

"What is it with you two and poking your noses where they don't belong?" he asked as they entered the locker room.

"Birds of a feather, I guess."

In the locker room, Mick Folley was putting his bag down in one of the cubbies.

"What about you and Bex?" he asked, looking through his gym bag, "what's going on there?"

He shook his head, "she comes and goes about that, but I…"

"Don't."

He shrugged.

"That's smart," Mick chimed in, "you really don't wanna date in the business."

"Really?" Seth looked over his shoulder.

"Well, mostly my daughter. Don't date my daughter. Seth."

They all laughed.

"Don't know what you're talking about Mick," he said walking over to the showers.

XXX

Sasha let out a deep sigh as she climbed into the hot shower. She was covered in sweat from the match with Charlotte. It was a hard fought battle, especially with her ankle not 100%, that ended with Dana costing Charlotte the title opportunity with a moronic DQ. It would keep the feud alive until SummerSlam. Her muscles were sore from the back-to-back matches, not to mention the activities in between. That sent a chill down her spine. She didn't want it to become a thing, but…she wanted him.

Dressed in a black maxi dress, she walked back to the backstage area, looking for the New Day boys or maybe Charlotte. Things had changed already. Instead, she found Seth, sitting by himself and watching a monitor far from the chatter of some of the other groups.

"Hey, just you?"

"Yeah, just me." He patted on the seat next to him and she obliged. "Great match out there, your ankle okay?"

"Yeah it's fine, I'm gonna lay off the heels for a couple weeks."

"Oh no how will you ever achieve average height?"

"Keep talking, Rollins," she said with a laugh. Her tone changed, "how are you, by the way?"

"It's been a roller-coaster week. A lot of downs, a lot of ups," he punched her lightly on the arm.

"You could still get the title right, at SummerSlam?"

"See that dorky Irishman with his perfect abs over there?" he nodded towards Finn and Roman's fight on the monitor. "He's got just a few years to make a big impression on this company. They want him carrying as much as he can before he has to retire. No one in that meeting is gonna change their mind about having him be the first Universal Champion."

She didn't say anything for a moment, what could she say?

"His abs are okay."

He looked over at her with a little smile, "Thanks."

Kissing her on the cheek, he felt a smile creep up on her face.

"By the way, those two have our number."

"Finn and Becky? Yeah, not much gets passed her. How'd Finn catch it?"

"You left your lipstick on my cheek last night, Banks."

"Did I? Oops."

"Marking your territory?"

"If it keeps you in line."

"I don't think Finn is gonna say anything. He said he wouldn't confirm Becky's suspicions. You might wanna talk to her though."

"Yeah I probably should…"

"Good."

"Or I could avoid it."

"You're gonna avoid it."

"I'm gonna avoid it."

XXX

Seth and Roman sat at the bar of the hotel, unspeaking, and sipping on their drinks. Their friends crowded around on one side, drinking and talking animatedly. He hadn't come to one of these things in a while, but he wanted to make a good show for the new era thing. Camaraderie was important to the guys who came through NXT right after him. Seth just wasn't sure where he fit into it. Roman seemed to feel the same, showing up and shaking Finn's hand, then saying nothing more all night.

"Good match tonight, man" he said to Roman after a little while.

"Thanks. Congrats on SummerSlam."

"Yeah. You know it's all story, right, Steph and all of that?"

"It's not," he said sternly, "but thanks brother. Hunter said he was gonna find something in the midcard for me."

"That's…something."

"That's a demotion."

Seth sighed, "I can talk to H for you, if you want."

"Nah, I can handle it."

"Alright," Seth nodded to Finn as he walked up, "how's it going?"

"Pretty aiight, so this is a main roster party huh?"

"Yeah they're alright," Roman looked down as his buzzing phone, "gotta go. See you guys tomorrow."

Seth turned on the bar stool as Finn ordered another drink. He found himself keep looking towards the door.

"I think they're doing their own thing tonight."

"What?" Seth looked over at him.

"The girls. Charlotte said something about a bar downtown they wanted to check out."

"Oh, whatever." He took a sip of his drink and rolled his eyes at the look Finn was giving him. "Cut it out man. It's not a thing."

Finn threw up his hands and backed off.

XXX

Sasha sat in a booth of a bar across town with Charlotte and Dana. She sipped on a fruity mixed drink as Charlotte was telling Dana about the first time her and Sasha fought in NXT.

"And now here we are, Sasha's champ and I'm about to be a two time champ," she said we a laugh.

"Keep telling yourself that, Flair."

"Hey I'm sorry about the program with Seth," Charlotte said with a frown, "it was going to be big for everyone."

"Yeah, well, what did anyone expect?"

"Did he cut it lose?" Dana asked.

"No, no Seth was really excited about it. Something unique, you know? It was management."

"That's stupid, it had so much potential," Charlotte shook her head.

Sasha shrugged.

"The chemistry was really strong, I'm sure they'll do something with you two again," Dana offered.

Charlotte snorted, "I'll say."

"What?" Sasha gave her a cool look, but her heart was pounding out of her chest.

"No, I'm just saying you two have really incredible chemistry, it's hard to find. Everyone knew there was that little bit of underlying sexual tension,"

"There's no sexual tension."

Both girls laughed and Sasha rolled her eyes.

"Did you see the look on his face when you winked at him?" Dana asked.

"Pretty sure he needed like 15 cold showers after that," Charlotte agreed.

"You guys are crazy."

"You gonna miss working with him?"

"Yeah I…I miss it already honestly. There are so many guys in there who would've been jerks about wasting their time on this, but Seth… he really gets that he has the upper hand, career wise. He wanted to help bring me up, all of us up, to that same level. He saw it as good for everyone. And he's got a knack for this stuff, y'know? I think he'll probably become a booker when he needs to retire because he is just so naturally…talented at it. He knows exactly what to do to make the story work, and he wasn't afraid of anything at his own expense if that made the most sense. He's…"

She trailed off, realizing she was gushing. Dana was largely oblivious, but Charlotte had a small smile on her face.

"He's alright, I guess."

"Is he good in bed too?" Charlotte asked with a smirk.

"EXCUSE ME?" Sasha nearly choked on her drink

"Jesus, Sash, just a joke, calm down." Charlotte handed her a napkin, "I just mean you two seem really close all of a sudden."

"It's not all of a sudden, and I'm not sleeping with him."

That was technically true, sleep **ing** implied an ongoing sexual relationship. Twice in two weeks did not qualify as sleeping.

"Well if you ever do," Dana chimed in, "I expect details."

XXX

As their cab pulled up to the hotel, a sense of loneliness came over Sasha realizing that she would have the room to herself tonight. It had been about a day, but she was already feeling the void that Becky left. Hopefully Bayley would come up soon. Much as she loved Charlotte, they weren't "stay up late talking about life" close. She had her hands full with Dana anyway, who was green and admitted to feeling a little underprepared. They waved to Sasha and took the stairs up to their room on the second floor, leaving her waiting for the elevator when Seth walked up.

"There's my girl," he said with a smile.

She laughed, "I'm not your girl,"

"Sure you're not."

"You wasted, Rollins?"

"Only a little. Listen, if you spent your night listening to Sami and Kevin debate where the best brisket in Montreal is, you'd be five in, too."

The elevator dinged and they both got on it.

"No, I just had Charlotte jokingly accuse us of sleeping together."

"But…we are sleeping together."

"No, Seth, we're not. We slept together,"

"Three times," he pointed out.

"Two times."

"Oh sorry, I was proactively counting tonight," he said with a wink.

She pushed him playfully. "Your game is a mess when you're drunk."

The doors opened on her floor.

"Goodnight, Seth," she said stepping out of it, a smile still across her face.

"Goodnight, Sasha."

XXX

Seth was waiting in line at the hotel's Starbucks in the morning, his head pounding.

"Rough night, kid?" came a voice behind him, Sasha was standing there with her dark rimmed glasses and her old NXT zip up.

"Turns out there was a reason I don't go to those things."

"Hmm," she smirked at him.

"Hey, uh, did I drunkenly hit on you last night?"

"Big time," she was still smiling, enjoying watching him squirm about it.

"Sorry."

"It's okay," she bit her lip and it sent a shiver down his spine.

They got up to the counter and Seth ordered his usual hot coffee, black.

"And whatever she's having," he looked back at Sasha.

"Oh um, vanilla ice latte with skim? Thanks,"

"Really, Banks?" he teased handing over his credit card, "we'll be waiting for that thing for ten minutes."

She smirked at him, and then said earnestly, "thank you."

He shrugged as they waited for her drink on the other side, "anytime. By the way, are you flying for that massive jump at the end of this week down to Atlanta?"

"Yeah, that's a fast one," she groaned, rolling her neck just thinking about it. They had appearances up to Sunday in Detroit and would have to be in Atlanta on Monday.

"It'll suck but…"

"But?"

"If you wanted to cancel your flight, and y'know, come with me instead…"

Her eyes lit up a little, though she tried to hide it as the barista passed her latte. She sipped on it, listening to him stumble the slightest bit over the offer.

"I know it's a long time, but we'll be asleep for most of it, and well, HBO GO."

"The way to a woman's heart," she teased as they walked through the lobby onto a bench to wait for Charlotte and Dana.

"I uh, I was gonna leave in the evening around 8 which would get us to the arena at 7 if we don't hit any traffic."

She nodded, "okay, sure."

"One condition,"

"Why is there always a condition with you?"

"Because I know what I want," he said with a sultry tone that made her stomach do a backflip. "But really, I just need a training partner on Tuesday. I have a buddy who runs a CrossFit box down there and offered to let me use the place before hours. He'll be doing admin work all morning so I need someone to spot and work with."

"You're making me do CrossFit?"

"It'll be fun. I'll show you some moves."

"HBO… CrossFit… HBO," she weighed in her hands jokingly.

He leaned down close and whispered into her ear, "and I won't be wearing a shirt. If that helps."

She bit her lip hard, feeling the heat rushing in her face.

"Okay."

"Okay," he said with a smile, "I'll text you in Detroit."

XXX

"You're late, Banks." Seth smirked as she dragged her suitcase across the parking lot of the hotel. "We don't have all night."

She rolled her eyes at him and shoved her suitcase in his direction. He laughed, and handed it over to the drive he'd hired that week.

"How was your autograph signing?" she asked as he climbed onto the bus with her.

"Pretty good, some cool fans. What about you?"

"Minimal creeps, always a plus." She had already made herself comfortable, kicking off her shoes and climbing into his king sized bed.

The bus began to move and he joined her, watching her flip through the options on his TV. Her make up was washed off, and her hair pulled back under one of Nikki Bella's snapbacks.

"What?" she said, noticing his eyes on her.

 _You're beautiful_ he wanted to say. But realizing how obvious he was being to Finn and Becky, he pulled back a bit. Seth Rollins was not gonna be that guy.

"Why don't you ever put me over, huh?"

She shrugged with a smile. "Get a better shirt."

"My shirt is awesome," he said, feigning offense, "you just wouldn't be able to handle its awesome."

"Uh huh?" she tossed the hat onto his bedside table, shaking her hair out of the high pony.

Selecting the first episode of the new season of Game of Thrones, she unzipped the sweatshirt and curled up next to him. She snuggled her head into the crook of his neck, against his scratchy beard. The smell of her hair filled his nose and he looked down at her.

"This okay?" she asked, quietly.

He ran and hand over her hair.

"I'll survive." There was that flirtatious giggle again. "I like that top, Banks."

She looked down and blushed at the low cut tank top. He draped his arm around her and pressed his lips to her cheek, his thumb running circles on her shoulder.

They lay there, watching the show, their legs intertwined and his fingers in her hair. She could feel his heartbeat underneath her hand on his chest and his eyes on her. Just the feeling of his hot breath against her skin and his fingertips grazing over her was enough to drive her crazy. She was trying hard to control her nervous breathing, but he was onto her.

"You alright Boss?"

"Mhmm."

He wasn't satisfied, placing a hand on her knee, squeezing lightly. She gasped and nudged against him playfully.

"If you wanted something, you should've made a move before I put this on. It's over now."

"I'm not the one who's getting excited over cuddling."

"I'm not excited," she dismissed.

"That tank top betrays you," he said, eyes grazing over the pulling thin fabric.

"Shut up and watch the murder," she grumbled, crossing her arms over her chest.

He laughed his devious laugh and eased up on the teasing. Lying there with her was plenty for him. He kept it to himself for a while, but as she leaned over him to play the next episode, their eyes caught.

"I like this, Sasha, I like this a lot."

She laughed and kissed him so lightly on the lips he almost missed it.

"Uh uh," he pulled her back down into a deeply passionate kiss.

"Mmm," she rolled on top of him and looked up at his soft brown eye, running her hands through his hair. "Just one."

"Just one," he grinned, wrapping his arms around her and tangling his tongue with hers.

She rolled back over, the remote in her hand, smiling smugly. "Now who's clothing is betraying them?"

"Hey," he said, shifting his hips away from her, "I mean it."

"Do you?"

"Yeah…of course I do. Why wouldn't I?"

"Never mind."

"Sash,"

"Forget I said anything." She curled back into him.

"Where did that come from?"

"Forget it."

"No," he prodded.

"Okay, I just… wanna know that what you say is real."

"I-" he sighed, this wasn't a battle he was winning tonight. "It is."

"Okay."

She hit play on the remote and by the time the episode went off, she was fast asleep on his shoulder. It was early, but he clicked off the television and slid out from underneath her. He changed out of his jeans and tshirt, returning to the bedroom in his boxer briefs.

"Hey," she said, stirring and rubbing her eyes.

"Tired?"

"Mmm, yes." Her eyes ran over him, "you're ready for bed."

"I think we're past the modesties, wouldn't you?"

"Fair," she rolled out of the bed, tying her hair up in a topknot.

"You could sleep in your underwear too, you know."

"Pass," she said with an eye roll, changing into a pair of soft shorts.

He snickered, letting her curl up under his arm as he turned off the light.

"Sleep well, Sash."

She didn't fall asleep though, tired as she was. Instead she lay awake in the crook of his neck, biting her lip and listening to the sound of his breath. Eventually she whispered into the dark.

"Seth?"

"Yeah?" he responded without opening his eyes.

"You awake?"

"Yes, Sasha. That's why I am speaking." He opened his eyes and looked down at her nervous expression. "What's wrong?"

"Daryl cheated on me. That's how we broke up."

He felt a pit in his stomach.

"He did? You never told me that."

"I know, I-It wasn't really the reason, y'know? It really was distance and commitment, never getting to see him while I was on the road, jealousy, all that. The cheating was just the final break. We both knew it wasn't working for a long time…so when you and me were talking about it… after you got hurt, it just, didn't seem worth mentioning."

"You didn't want to make me feel like a jerk," he said with a sigh.

"Kinda. So look, what's going on here between us, whatever that is, I need you to be honest with me."

"Okay. Promise." He kissed her lightly on the lips, wishing he knew exactly what **was** going on between them.

"Thank you."

"How'd you catch him?"

She sighed, "it was real sloppy, I have a single friend in Boston who found him on Tinder so she matched to see if it was really him."

"Jesus."

"And he matched back."

"Wow. I'm sorry."

"I just…wanna put all of that behind me."

He gulped. "Got it."

She closed her eyes again. Sighing, she turned over and burrowed her backside into him, letting him wrap a leg around hers. Half asleep, she let out a murmur as he kissed the top of her head. He let himself float off to sleep with her in his arms.


	8. Chapter 8

He knocked on her at an ungodly hour Tuesday morning. Banging on her door really. She opened it with a grumpy look on her face.

"Rise and shine, Banks,"

"I hate you," she said grabbing her bag from the bed.

"If you think little pout at me is gonna make me wanna just grab you and skip the work out…"

"It was worth a shot," she said with a smirk, walking past him in bright athletic shorts and a Tap Out tank top.

They climbed into her rental car, him directing her through Atlanta to a tiny warehouse off a side street. There was a small sign on the top of the building, but it was otherwise bare, with just one other car parked in the lot.

"This is it?"

"Don't judge, c'mon."

He knocked on the door and was greeted by a stocky man around Seth's age. They shook hands and hugged before Seth turned over to her.

"Bryce, this is Sasha."

"Banks, right?" He held out his hand, "Good to meet you, I'm a big fan."

"Oh thank you," she smiled shaking his hand. "This is a nice place."

"Ha, CrossFit isn't really designed to be pretty, but thank you. You know, you have to be one of the most incredible wrestlers I've ever seen,"

"Gee thanks man," Seth said sarcastically.

Bryce ignored him, smiling at her flirtatiously. "Beautiful too, how do you manage all of that at once?"

She blushed and laughed.

"Alright that's enough of that Bryce." Seth pushed him away, "don't you have some invoices to file?"

"I do, actually. It was lovely meeting you Sasha, grab a card on your way out,"

"Bye." Seth said grumbling as Bryce walked back to the office.

She was giggling at him, as he put his bag down at a cubby.

"Oh shut up Banks," he said looking at her smug smile, "you're a babe, what else is new?"

"Did you get your lines from him?" she asked with a flip of her hair as she tied it back

"He got his lines from me." He pulled his shirt over the top of his head, flexing and stretching. "Here, you need wraps."

He took her hand and started wrapping the plain black fabric around it. Her eyes fluttered up to him, watching him concentrate with his tongue sticking out of his mouth ever so slightly.

"That too tight?"

"No it's alright."

"Okay, hand."

"Hey, don't be bratty."

His eyes flared to her, and he opened his mouth to retort, but closed it.

"You love it when I'm bratty," he said, letting her other hand go and wrapping his own in complicated lifting gloves.

She let him run her through his ridiculous work out, keeping the eye rolls to a minimum. Most everything he did needed to be modified, but she was content to watch him finish his crazy sets.

"You're supposed to be spotting, Banks," he said, catching her in the mirror during his squats. "What if I slip and hurt myself because you were busy looking at my ass?"

Sasha scrunched her nose at him. He dropped the barbell aggressively, she hated when they did that, but didn't bother. It was his day, she'd agreed to that much.

"C'mon, you'll like the rings."

"I really don't trust you when you say I'll like anything in here."

"C'mon," he brought her over to a pair of gymnastic rings, "it's all about core, you like core."

"Sure,"

He hung from the rings, swung, and pulled himself up, showing her the move. Holding it in the air for a few moments, she grazed over him again and bit her lip.

"Pay attention, Banks."

 _Dammit, how does he always do that?_

"So basically," he said, dropping down, "it's just an intensified pull up."

"Okay," she felt his eyes on her as she set herself up at it.

The rings were a tad too high for her, making her reach up more than he had to, and struggling to get herself off the ground. With a lot of force she pulled herself up, her core screaming, and tried to hold it before slipping down.

"Whoa, easy, I got ya." He caught her as she fell down, them both laughing as their eyes met.

"I think you're using all your energy just to get up there."

'Yeah think so."

"Life must be so hard down there," he smirked, "here, I'll try to help boost you. Ready?"

She nodded and lifted herself up when he said go. His hand was under her butt, pushing her up a bit, and she glanced down at it quickly. The move was easier with the extra boost, though she felt a twinge of disappointment once his hand left her.

"There you go."

He helped her with a few more reps, each time pushing her up with a hand on her.

"Alright," he glanced at his watch "we should get going."

They gathered their things and said goodbye to Bryce, who still had his eyes on Sasha much to Seth's disapproval. In the car, he pouted for a minute.

"Oh come off it, Rollins."

"I can't believe you took his card."

"It was polite."

"Are you gonna call him?"

"Maybe."

"Hmpf. Thanks anyway, for coming with me."

"Yeah it was a good time."

"You wanna do it again?" he asked, looking over at her in the driver's seat.

"No."

"Ha ha ha alright."

"But you owe me power yoga next week, we'll see who's in a world of hurt."

"Power yoga? Banks, I do pushups with chains on my shoulders, I think I can handle a little yoga."

"It's pretty tough," she smirked at him.

"I'm gonna kill it," he scoffed.

"No tapping out?"

"Not a chance."

"You wanna put your money where your mouth is?"

His eyes lit up wild, "what do I get when I win?"

She shrugged "I dunno, whatever you want."

"Whatever I want? I like the sound of that. You're on."

"Alright, next week, your room, power yoga."

"Cake walk."

XXX

"What the fuuuuuck!"

She giggled at him.

"This is not yoga!" He struggled with the backbend of a full King Pigeon Pose.

"You can modify it, don't hurt yourself," she said as she dipped her head back in between her feet.

"Humans were not meant to bend this way!"

"It's good for you," she said with an eye roll. He'd been whining since they started the program, and hadn't taken a very strong liking to the complicated moves. "Are you breathing?"

"Yes I'm breathing."

"Breathe better."

He grumbled to himself some more as she unwrapped the move.

"Okay next one, Scorpion With a Broken Tail."

"With a what now?"

She demonstrated the forearm stand, which he was fine with, then bent her knees down. He tried to follow, already starting to feel his balance give. Tucking one leg behind the other as her foot came down to the top of her head, she smiled at him and he'd had enough.

"Nope, nope, fuck it," he tapped the yoga mat and collapsed on his stomach. "Rollins out."

She giggled and released the move with perfect control. Rolling him over onto his back, she curled into the side of his sweating chest.

"I told you."

"Oh don't look so smug," he grumbled. "What'll it be?"

"Hm?" she started tracing circles on his torso, teasingly.

"I'm a man of my word," he sighed. "Anything you want."

"Well, since you brought it up. I was just gonna have you take off all of your clothes and do me on the floor."

"Oh, done."

"Nah."

"I don't like that look, Banks."

She grinned deviously, "Oh we'll have sex, don't worry. It's just that first you put me through CrossFit hell, and then got bratty about Bryce, and then took my power yoga lightly."

"Oh god. Please don't be into spanking." He closed his eyes tightly, why did he agree to this? Because he thought he'd win and get a lap dance out of the deal, that's why.

"I'm not. But I think I'm gonna wind you up nice at tight," she started rubbing him on the outside of his athletic shorts, he quickly hardened to the touch, "get you real hot and bothered."

"Yeah?" he asked nervously.

"And march you over to the Madden tournament in Xavier's room."

"Shit, you wouldn't…"

"Wouldn't I?"

He glared at her as she grinned and bit her lip.

"I don't know if I should be supremely pissed off or incredibly turned on right now."

Her lips were on his neck, and her fingertips working their way down the front of his boxer briefs. He relaxed into a moan, this was happening.

"I swear to god Banks, if I'm robbed of this match over blue balls…"

She merely chuckled and continued to tease him with the tip of her tongue. Her hand wrapped around him and he let out a gasp.

"Oh fuck me."

"I said, later," she reminded him beginning to stroke up and down.

"Oh there will better be a later. I'm coming for you. You won't even be able to see straight when I'm done."

"That was the point, Seth." She rolled her eyes and kissed him rubbing harder.

After a few minutes he started to shake underneath her, and she pulled her hand up and out of his shorts. Leaving him panting on the floor, she lifted herself up.

"We're gonna be late."

He shook his head, feeling his blood pulsing through his veins and his breath heavy. She had a way of getting him very, very wound up, and fast. A tshirt landed on his face and he grumbled, pulling it on and standing up.

"Hey," he came up behind in the bathroom her as she washed her hands of whatever had slipped out.

Pushing up against her, she could feel how excited he was. In honesty, she was pretty excited too, but she wasn't the one who had to go play Austin Creed in Madden. He wrapped his arms around her waist and whispered in her ear.

"We walk out that door, punishment's over. Sure, you get to have your fun watching me sweat it out, but the second we get back here, it's my turn to play dirty."

She squirmed a bit, rubbing against him with her backside. "You're so predictable, Rollins. Let me guess, blow job?"

"Every last lick," he purred in her ear, it made the hair on her neck stand up.

"We'll see."

XXX

"Motherfuc-"

"Dude, the more you curse the more audio editing I have to do." Xavier laughed at him.

Seth grumbled at the interception he'd thrown. Sitting in two hotel chairs, they had Xavier's counsel hooked up to the TV. Roman and both Uso's stood behind them, Sasha was stretched out her stomach on the bed. He glanced up at her reflection in the mirror, and shook his head as she smiled. Bad enough she'd made him come in here all flustered, but now she insisted on reminding him of it by letting herself just lightly spill over the top her sports bra. He was gonna get her for this one.

"You alright there Uce?" Jimmy asked, "You're off your game today."

"Yeah I know I'm off my game," he snapped.

Roman laughed, "ho shit, now he's riled up."

They had no idea. It was 4th quarter and him and Xavier were tied, which was bullshit because he was a much better player than Creed, even if he was a wizard of all things video gaming. This was the semi-finals, he was not gonna be beaten in the semi-finals.

 _Okay man, time to focus._ That only ever seemed to make matters worse, the less he tried to think about her lips on his, the more he could feel them even now.

"NO! NO NO NO!" Xavier had made a crucial mistake.

"C'mon…" Seth honed in on the screen, trying not to feel Sasha's eyes on his back. Just the right combination…."YES!"

He jumped up at his team caught the football in the end zone. The Usos and Roman were going crazy, Xavier recoiled in defeat, and Sasha laughed and clapped.

"That's what I'm talking about!" He caught her eye, he almost winked at her before remembering they were all on camera, and even if the boys didn't notice, someone in the YouTube comment section surely would.

"Alright, that's it for semi-finals of the UpUpDownDown Madden Tournament," Xavier said into the camera, "as always follow your boy Austin Creed on Twitter at…

Seth wasn't paying attention anymore, he was too busy celebrating. He had a tendency to get a temper when he played games, but the pay off was beautiful. Glancing at her again he felt the throbbing return to his crotch. He needed her, badly.

"Do you guys wanna start the finals?" Xavier asked him and Roman.

"I actually promised Boss over here I'd do power yoga with her in exchange for coming to the CrossFit box last week, so."

"Power yoga?"

"It's pretty hard, right Seth?" she grinned at him.

"I guess we'll find out. I could do Wednesday before the house show."

"Works for me, man. You're going down."

"We'll see about that. Catch you guys later."

XXX

The door closed and he was on her immediately. His lips crashed into hers and he pushed her roughly against the wall, his hands running up and down the curve of her body.

"That wasn't so bad, now was it?" she asked with a devious smile.

"It was terrible," he pushed against her harder, "you wanted me all wound up, you got it baby."

She let out a moan at the feeling of him against her, and he pulled off her loose tank top. In an instant, the sports bra was unclasped at his coarse hands were underneath it, rubbing her roughly. She gasped and leaned into the moan, enjoying herself.

"I'm sorry, was I not aggressive enough for you last time?" he took her in between his calloused fingertips and watched her squirm underneath the touch. "you could've just asked for it."

"This was more fun," she grinned up at him, he wiped the smile her face by kissing her again, sucking on her bottom lip. He couldn't take it any longer.

"Get on your knees for me," he growled in her ear.

"Excuse you?"

"You heard me. After that bullshit, I get that much."

"Who's keeping score?" she asked coyly.

"You. Always."

She laughed, pulling him over to the suite's couch. He closed his eyes as she pulled down his shorts and pushed him down on it, kneeling in front of him. He was out of control the moment her lips touched him. They both knew it, he was hers. Though he'd never live it down, it was worth it as soon as she started.

"Oh shit…" he groaned and leaned back as she went deeper.

For what felt like hours but was probably just minutes, she was relentless. And he was quickly losing it. A pang ran through him and he tapped her on the top of her head.

She knew what he was after, slipping her yoga pants off and climbing on top of him on the couch. He let her guide him in and watched as she started riding him slowly, a gasp escaping her.

"You good?" he asked quietly, pushing a piece of hair behind her ear.

"Yeah just give it a sec."

"You enjoying yourself?"

Her eyes were wild when they met his.

"It's been good…" she bit her lip as he teased her with his fingertips lightly. "You can take the lead."

He grinned, held tightly on her hips and began to push into her roughly. She moaned deeply as they got into a fast rhythm. It was one of those heated sessions where they couldn't make up their minds. First he pushed her down to the floor, where they rolled around for a while, then after she'd let it wash over her once, he pulled her to the bed with the promise of another. At a particularly rough thrust from above her, he hit his peak and collapsed into her.

"Whoa," she whispered in his ear.

"That was incredible." He rolled over, breathing heavily.

"Worth it?"

"Maybe. But I'm still pissed."

She shrugged and bat her eyelashes at him. The clock said 11:05am and Seth groaned realizing they needed to be at the arena for noon.

"Shit, I have a match tonight," he whined, feeling the ache in his body from the yoga and the last 30 minutes of her.

"Haha sucks for you, I'm on commentary for Charlotte."

"You better dress hot."

"Do't I always?"

"Usually. I'm gonna take a cold shower for security," he kissed her lightly on her lips before rolling out of the bed.

"Oh and Seth? This never happened."

"Of course." He smiled at her and said, "Tell me the next time you want it to not happen," before closing the bathroom door.


	9. Chapter 9

It "didn't happen" a few more times in the remaining weeks before SummerSlam. He'd arrived at the hotel to a text message with her room number one night, and happily indulged the whim. She'd asked for a ride another, and it ended with them intertwined in his sheets as they rolled down the highway. Once she said she was heading to bed early from the bar, and he did too, finding her hesitating when they got to her floor. But mostly, they just enjoyed spending time together. He liked having her around, having someone he felt he could talk to.

She would talk with him for hours, she pushed him, challenged him, made him question anything he insisted to be true. Sasha never took his bullshit, she reminded him of what he used to have with The Shield before they each took their own paths. Slowly she started traveling with him more and more, they made their way through the season of Game of Thrones and started on Stranger Things. She started recruiting him for her morning workouts, much as she rejected his style, he pushed her further and she needed that boost to her training.

Somehow, their closeness didn't raise lot of suspicion. They stuck to the story that they were just great friends and that Seth had taken a particular interest in her career since their program ended. The guys made jokes about how he was building her up to join forces with him, making her into his queen. They called him her work husband and teased about them being a power couple. But as long as they kept their flirting out of the picture, and their escapades away from prying eyes, the others seemed to believe that it was platonic.

A knock came at the locker room door as Seth was stretching for his Summerslam match.

"Decent," Sami called out, it was just him and Seth in there.

Sasha poked her head in, "hey I was passing by and Neville said he was looking for you Sami."

"Thanks Sasha," he said, walking past her to find Neville.

"Hey," her eyes were on Seth, "You good?"

"I…I am about to have one of the biggest matches of my career."

"Yeah,"

"And I'm gonna lose it."

"Seth," she sat down next to him on the bench.

"Don't get me wrong. I can't wait for it, it's gonna be incredible. Finn and I are putting on a classic out there and you know me, I'm all about the art form. Good wrestling is good wrestling…"

"But?"

"But I'm competitive. In my core, it's just who I am."

"I noticed."

"Easy, Banks, that mini golf course was rigged."

She laughed, and he pressed his temple to hers.

"It's a really big night, and it's gonna be a really big deal. I just wish it were me, y'know?"

"Yeah, I do."

He placed a long kiss on her cheek and stood up.

"C'mon, people will start thinking we're doing something dirty in here."

"Oh no," she said with a laugh, following him out of the locker room.

XXX

The timing of the show was odd, so by 9:30 people were gathered around the monitors for Seth and Finn's match. It was crowded, so her and Becky watched from the women's locker room. They were filming Total Divas in one of the other rooms, so it was largely empty.

"Finn excited?" Sasha asked as they sat down in fold up chairs.

"He will not stop talkin' about it." Becky said with a chuckle. "I'm happy for 'im."

Seth was making his way down to the ring in new green gear. He was supremely confident sauntering down there, and when he got up on the ropes, he looked like a man on a mission.

"Rollins looks fantastic." Becky smiled at her as he pulled off his shirt in one swoop and flexed.

"He's alright."

"Mhmm."

The lights started pulsing, Finn was making his Demon entrance.

"Daaaaamn." Sasha looked over and Becky, "he's a master."

"He really is."

They locked up and Becky and Sasha watched without speaking, engrossed in the match. There was an unspoken understanding between them. Sasha knew how strongly Becky felt about Finn, how proud she'd be of him once this thing was over. And Becky, undoubtedly, could see how much Sasha wanted to see Seth do well. So they let the other watch the match carefully, without distraction.

But then something changed, Finn took a bad bump to the barricade, it looked nasty.

"Did you see that?" Becky asked.

"The bump?"

"No I…never mind." She said shaking her head. "Just something on his face in that last shot."

The match continued, but something did feel off. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something was there. Becky seemed to have let it go, reacting just to the moves and the spots. A few minutes later, Seth was going up to the top rope, and was suddenly flying through the air. He landed on Finn and the ref started the count.

They both held their breath, 1…2…2.5… Sasha waited for the kick out, it didn't come. 3. The bell rang. Seth's hand was being held up.

"Bex…"

"Aw man, congrats lass."

"No Bex, that wasn't the finish."

"What?"

"Finn was supposed to go over they changed the finish."

Becky's eyes were wide and scared.

"Is he hurt?"

"I…don't know."

"Hang on, how did you know the finish?"

"Not important," she shook her head, "but that wasn't it."

"I'm gonna go find Hunter."

"I'll come with you," the two of them ran down the hallway to guerrilla.

Hunter was standing there, waiting for Seth and Finn.

"Hunter, what's going on? Is Finn aiight?"

"We don't know, it looks like he dislocated his shoulder, popped it back in mid-match."

They both gasped. Finn came through first as Seth was celebrating the new belt in the ring. He was wincing in pain.

"Hey, I-" he was breathing heavily.

"We need to get you to the trainer's room Finn, the sooner you get that looked at, the better."

"Okay," he looked back at Becky, "will ya come with?"

"Yeah of course," she glanced back at Sasha as the tree of them scurried off.

Seth came through a moment later, his eyes were wide.

"Sash… I don't know what happened. Is Finn okay?"

"Hunter took him to get looked at by the trainer."

He looked down at the belt, the one he wanted so badly. "I feel terrible."

She wrapped her arms around his middle, and he gave into the hug.

"I didn't mean…"

"Shh, I know. But you're champ."

"Yeah… I'm champ."

She looked up and kissed him firmly on the lips.

"You earned it just as much as he did."

He smiled lightly, "I should go see how he is."

Starting to walk out, he stopped before he reached the exit.

"Meet me for drink?"

"Sure," she smiled slyly as he went off to make sure his friend was okay.

XXX

"Finn I-" he was rambling the second as he got to the door of the trainer's room.

"Seth you don't have to apologize."

"I don't know what happened."

"It was just a bad hit. Bad timing."

"I am so sorry."

"Seth, it's okay."

"Don't worry about it," Hunter said, looking up from the email on his phone. "It's part of the business."

"Yeah, I know."

"Alright, Finn I'll have them call you first thing tomorrow about getting you in for an MRI. I gotta get out there for main. Congrats, Champ." He turned and walked out of the room, leaving Seth and Finn in an awkward silence.

"It was the right call," Finn said after a moment. "This is serious, I can feel it. I'd have to vacate it."

"That would've sucked."

"Yeah…don't worry about it yeah? I'll be back and we'll have our rematch."

"Better believe it," Seth said with a smile.

Becky came back in with a bottle of water from catering.

"Thanks Bex," he said as she sat down next to him. "Celebrate tonight, mate. Please. For me?"

He nodded, "I will."

XXX

His heart dropped as she walked in the bar, her hair bouncing in curls around her shoulder. The slinky black cocktail dress hugged every curve and plunged low down her chest. She caught his eye from across the room and smiled smugly as he picked his jaw off up the floor.

"You buying champ?" She asked, scooting into the seat next to him on the lounge couch.

"Yeah, yeah. You look…" his eyes ran over her again, "nice."

"Thank you," she moved a strand of hair over her shoulder. "Thought I'd dress up for the occasion."

"Oh is the occasion you getting some?"

"Yes. Obviously." She laughed.

"Got it."

She ordered a drink and sipped it as they talked about the rest of the card. AJ and Cena's classic, her close call with Charlotte, Big E's return from a minor injury. He would talk about just about anything to avoid talking about Finn's injury.

"So," she said after he'd avoided it long enough. "You're back on the top of the mountain."

"I am…"

"Did you talk to Finn? Becky texted me, she said he's not upset."

"Yeah I talked to him, he said to celebrate for him."

"He's a good dude," she nodded, sipping her drink.

"He is. I'm not worried about him, he'll be okay."

"Then what's up?"

"I'm just…worried the guys aren't gonna want me around after this."

"Seth,"

"Finn is beloved," It came out all at once, like it always did when he was keeping something locked up inside. "He means a lot to that locker room, especially that last NXT class."

"No one's gonna blame you."

"You know that's not true."

"Okay but,"

"Have you noticed that we're the only ones celebrating this right now? No one else said they wanted to come out."

"Everyone's just in shock, it was nasty. People reacted the same way when you got hurt."

He tipped his head to the side. "That's sweet, but I don't really believe you."

She sighed, defeated.

"It's about to get a lot lonelier at the top of this mountain, Sash."

"Well I'm not going anywhere," she crossed her arms in a huff.

"Cheers to that."

XXX

Later that night, he was lying in the hotel bed with her head resting on his bare chest. His hands entangled with her hair and she let out a deep sigh, looking up at him.

"Enough of a celebration for you, champ?"

"I could go for another…or a third…"

She smacked him playfully on the arm, he laughed and pulled her closer under the sheets.

"Really, Sash… it's been a weird night. I'm glad you were in it with me."

She snuggled up against him, her foot running up against his leg. Her eyes met his.

"I'm your girl, remember?"

His stomach did a backflip. " **My** girl?"

She nodded, "if that's alright."

"Yeah that's alright." He leaned down and placed a soft kiss on her lips. She moaned into it, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in, deeper.

Seth leaned into the bed, closing his eyes and enjoying the smell of her hair. He realized how exhausted he was, and it felt like just a moment before his alarm was ringing in the morning.

She sat up in his bed, the sheet falling down to her waist, and pulled her hair back into a high ponytail. He watched her as she moved slowly until their eyes met. Pink raised in her cheeks as she shuffled out of the bed and slipped back on her dress.

"Have a good walk of shame, Banks," he said with a wink, pulling on a pair of athletic shorts and a tshirt.

"Keeeep talking Rollins," she shot back.

"Hey," he grabbed her right before she walked out the door and kissed her cheek. "I'll see you tonight."

Tying his sneakers, he smiled to himself, thinking about the weird weekend he'd endured. A run was overdue. Prospect Park wasn't too far from the hotel, but as he headed in its direction, a camera crew caught his eye.

"Seth Rollins! Got a second for TMZ?"

He groaned internally, but motioned for the guy to walk with him. Last time they'd caught him in LA, they asked him about CM Punk, it was uncomfortable.

"Congrats champ," the guy pointed his camera towards Seth as they walked down the sidewalk.

"First ever Universal Champion, baby," he said keeping his character.

"What's your response to reports of your connection to Sasha Banks?"

"What reports?" he scoffed.

"Insiders have reported you traveling together, training together. Is something happening behind the scenes?"

He sighed and tried to toe the line between his keeping character and dispelling the rumor.

"Listen, Sasha Banks is an incredible athlete. Game recognizes game, right? So I'm happy to lend my talents, and my comfortable traveling arrangements, to help her out. You guys watch, Sasha Banks is among the greatest wrestlers of this generation. She's one of the toughest competitors I've ever met, and one of the best friends."

Had he said too much?

"But you're not involved?" the TMZ guy pushed.

"The Man doesn't mess around, The Man doesn't have time"


	10. Chapter 10

Hunter busted into the locker room right as the dark match had started. Seth was combing through his wet hair, he was scheduled to open.

"Seth, hey, change of plans."

"What's up?"

"I talked the others into letting you and Sasha have your program back now that you're champion. She's interrupting your promo."

"Oh," he said with a surprise.

"What? I thought you'd be excited."

"I…I am, that's great. Thanks H,"

"You don't look excited, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I'm just not in that mindset. I gotta turn it back on."

"Okay…well Sasha was excited, I just told her."

"Is there a plan? At all?"

"Nope. Hey, you've ad-libbed larger, and done great. It'll be fine."

"Okay…"

Hunter ran out of the room and Seth took a deep breath. Working with her in the ring was one thing when they were just flirtatious. It was another thing now that they'd slept together half a dozen times.

She smiled nervously at him at guerilla, dressed in tight pants and a cut up merch shirt. His music hit and he nodded to her on the way out.

"What did I tell ya? Huh?" He goaded the crowd, "What did I tell ya. There is no stopping The Man, not even the Demon King can stop The Man. I am the most decorated wrestler of this generation and now I am the first ever Universal Champion. Oh and Finn Balor, he thought he could step to me? Finn Balor is on the bench for the next six months, because that's what happens when you step to ME."

The beat of her theme hit, and the crowd popped as she walked down to the ring with the belt around her waist.

"Sounds like someone needs to check your ego, Rollins."

"Saaasha Banks," he could hear that the desire was poking through his voice, he cleared his throat. "How'd I know I'd be hearing from you tonight?"

"I guess we're both predictable," she ducked under the ropes, flipping her hair. "You act like a jerk, and I remind you what you are actually are. A sniffling little brat that has to injure his opponent in order to win."

"Ha ha ha that's cute, Banks. No, I'm The Architect, I'm The Man, I'm The King."

They stared each other down, her glare was piercing. It was making his heart beat faster.

"But I like your spirit kid," he said, leaning back on the ropes lazily. "If you were willing to shake my hand, maybe I could find a place for you in my kingdom."

She crossed her arms and scoffed.

"I mean not as my queen of course, no, no. Maybe as a serving wench, or as a jester in my court. You could dance for my amusement, I'd enjoy that."

Sasha gapped, offended, and he realized the words that had just come out of his mouth. He bit his lip and chuckled, trying to recover and gloss over it.

"Heh, but of course, you're a woman of dignity, better suited to spying for me, perhaps."

"Cut the crap Rollins,"

"What I'm after, Banks," he started walking towards her, "is that either I can make things very comfortable for you around here. Or I can make it a living hell. Your choice."

They stared at each other for a moment, their noses almost touching.

"I'm waiting."

Out of the corner of his eye he saw her right hand come up again and caught it, forcing it behind her back.

"Ha ha ha. I don't think so."

Meeting her eyes, he was on fire. All he wanted to do was push her down and go at it. Something in her eye said that's what she wanted too. He let go of her hand as Kevin's music started playing.

"If you two are done dancing around each other, some of us actually have a match we'd like to get to."

Seth held the ropes for Sasha with a condescending smile. She took another route out of the ring and watched his match backstage.

"Good promo Sasha," Hunter nodded to her as he and Stephanie walked by.

She smiled, but found herself not wanting to be right there once Seth came through the curtain. It was overwhelming to be in the ring with him again, with all of those eyes on them.

After his match he beelined for the locker room for a cold shower. He sighed deeply as the sweat washed off him and he finally let himself think about Sasha's swaying hair and her biting her lip.

Changing back into sweatpants and a tshirt, he hoisted his wet hair back to bun. He wandered over to where groups were watching Bayley's big debut interrupting Charlotte's rant, Sasha was probably already in guerilla waiting to see her. The New Day were watching on one monitor with Sami, but Seth hung back.

"Hey man, good work out there." Hunter was next to him suddenly.

"Thanks, we'll uh, have something a little more lucid next time."

"Yeah I know we sprung that on you, just uh, careful next time. This is a PG show."

Seth laughed, "It was a slip of the tongue, I swear."

"Alright, just easy on the heat."

"The heat?" he felt his face flushing.

"Yeah that chemistry between you, don't let it overwhelm the segment."

"I have…no idea what you're talking about Hunter, there's no heat."

"You're kidding right?" he crossed his arms, "you really don't see it?"

"I really don't," his brow was breaking out in a bit of a sweat as Hunter's eyes narrowed.

"I was trying to be delicate, but seriously, Seth, cut out the eye-fucking."

His face was red and his eyes wide as he gulped.

"Why does this have you all squirmy?" Hunter was staring a hole straight through Seth.

"I'm not I'm just-"

"Seth." He lowered his voice, "are you two…"

He was at a loss, what could he possibly say? It was written all over his face.

"Look," he put a hand on Seth shoulder, "Do whatever makes you happy, just leave it at the curtain, okay?"

"Yeah, got it. Thanks, Hunter."

XXX

The girls were celebrating after Bayley's debut match backstage later in the night. Hunter came by to take a picture with Bayley and as they turned to go back to the women's locker room, he called Sasha over.

"You have 5 minutes?"

"Yeah, about the seg?"

"Mhmm, here," he led her into one of the office and she looked around nervously.

"I thought you were happy with it?"

"I am," he sat closed the door part way and sat down on the couch across from her.

"Then why are we in the office?" The office was usually reserved for uncomfortable, private conversations, especially when it came to a female talent and a male suit. Like, suspension level conversations.

"Okay, there's no way to make this not awkward, so I'm just gonna…I just wanna make sure that you're being careful about who you're spending your time with."

"Who I'm what?" she said with an accusation in her tone. "I don't really understand how that's any of your business."

"It's not. But you're like a daughter to me, I don't want to see you get hurt."

"By who?"

He just cocked his head at her in response. A _you know who_ look.

"Did he tell you?"

"He overreacted to me telling him to ease up on the heat between you too out there. Made himself pretty obvious."

She crossed her arms and looked away. "It's not anything serious."

"Whatever it is or isn't, it's a tough position. Trust me, I've been there."

"I know,"

"Look, I was the dirty scoundrel there right? Like I'm the guy who swoops in and sleeps with the boss' daughter and then goes ahead and marries her."

"Twice."

They both laughed.

"By all accounts, I should've gotten the brunt of the blame. All of the criticism, all of the insults, and I would've been very happy to have taken them for her. But they still called her a slut."

Sasha looked down and nodded her head. It was the reality.

"I'm not saying walk away. I just want you to be careful. When this comes out, and it **will** come out Sasha, you'll wanna be prepared for it."

"Yeah, I will be."

He smiled and stood up, "I won't tell anyone, if you don't want me to."

She nodded and followed him back out to the backstage area.

XXX

Later in the week, Seth took a deep breath as he looked in the mirror of his house's foyer. He took the hair out the hair tie and wrapped it again, smoothed over his beard and adjusted his glasses. Why was he so nervous? The IPhone on the table buzzed, it was a Snapchat from Sasha of her TV and Xbox in Boston. Her legs were outstretched in the frame, wearing his socks again, and with a five star match score on 2k16. The black bar read _Coming for you, Rollins._ It made him chuckle but his stomach turned. Playing her at video games wasn't something he could think about at this moment.

Grabbing his keys, he put it away from his mind and drove to little coffee shop by the shopping center. Again, he looked in the mirror and took a deep breath, trying not to act so damn edgy.

"Hey," he walked up to a woman with short wavy hair. "You order?"

"Yeah I just got you a black coffee, that alright?"

"That's perfect, um," he sat down across the tiny table, "I'm glad you called, Jenna."

"I'm glad you came." She smiled and he realized in the past year he'd almost forgotten how beautiful she was.

They sat in an awkward silence for a moment as their coffees came.

"How's work?" she asked, sipping on her coffee.

"It's been good, I'm champion again."

"Yeah I saw. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks. Your sister and Dan good?"

"Mm, my niece is walking."

"Get outta here."

"Yeah she's so big."

He felt the pit in his stomach growing. They'd built such a life together and now it was going on without him in it. They'd gone to her twin sister's wedding together, one of their first big events as a couple. It was the first time he'd met her whole family, and on the dance floor late in the night, he told her he was going to make her his wife one day. She'd believed it. He'd believed it.

"So uh, was there something you wanted to talk about?"

She shifted uncomfortably in her seat before pulling a small shiny object out of her pocket and placing it on the table in front of him.

"You told me you sold that," he picked up the engagement ring he'd given her nearly two years years before.

"I kept saying I was going to but…I don't know, just could never do it. There's no point holding on to it anymore. You should be able to give it to someone else."

"I never thought I'd see this thing again."

"People change their minds," she shrugged.

He met her eyes, feeling a lump in the back of his throat.

"Y'know I spent the longest time looking for this?" he said with a chuckle, "I went to a diamond shop in every city we stopped in for like 2 months. Just…nothing was good enough until I found that one."

"It was a good choice. I loved it."

"Why now? It's been a year."

"I'm… okay. It's taken some time but, I don't wanna dwell on this anymore. I'm ready to be dating again. Neither of us need this weighing us down. I know I don't."

"You should keep it…" The words came out of his mouth before he could grab them, desperate and half-hopeful.

"Seth."

"No, I'm serious. You should keep it. It's yours. I bought it for you, not to regift it someone else."

"Then you can sell it or give it to a fan who needs to pay for their WrestleMania ticket, I don't know."

"I want you to keep it," he said quietly. _I want you to put it back on your finger_ is what he really wanted to say, but he held back that much.

"I don't want it."

"Why not?"

"This is me moving on Seth, this is called closure. This is me putting what **you** did with another woman in **our** home, behind me."

"I've apologized time and time again."

"And I forgive you but-"

"I tried to make that right."

"You can't-"

"Please, Jenna, just let me try. I know, okay, I know I fucked up and I'm not asking you to put this back on your hand. But just…hang onto it and maybe one day-"

"There is no one day."

"There can be."

"No, Seth, there can't be. I care about you, I want you to be happy. But I don't love you anymore and I am not wasting anymore time on you."

The lump was growing in his throat, and pressure swelling behind his eyes. She pushed the ring towards him again as she stood up.

"Thanks for the coffee."

He sat there, looking at the ring for a moment before putting it in the change pocket of his wallet. Taking out his phone, there was another Snapchat notification from Sasha.

The video opened, a IPhone video of a computer screen that was playing Botchamania on YouTube.

"You could dance for my amusement, I'd enjoy that."

He blushed watching it back. White letters popped up on the screen. _Realizes what he just said. Tries to cover it up._

"Heh, but of course you're a woman of dignity…"

 _Nailed it._

He laughed to himself, his stomach in knots.

 _This how you spend your day off Banks?_ he texted her before pulling out of the parking lot.

It buzzed a minute later and played through the Blutooth in his car "Yes and it's been fantastic. Why, what have you been doing?"

As he got out of the car he texted her again, _Falling behind on 2k16, apparently._

 _Wasn't Jenna today?_

 _Yeah just came from it._

 _How'd it go?_

He paused for a second, thinking about what he'd said to Jenna, how badly wanted her back in that moment. The ring sitting in his pocket.

 _Fine, we just caught up_


	11. Chapter 11

Monday night, Sasha was on commentary for a match between Bayley and Dana. She'd agreed to let Bayley have a number one contenders match against Charlotte if she pulled out the win here. She was playing up the attitude that she didn't think Bayley would be able to get the win against Charlotte and she was just throwing her best friend a bone. One of the writers threw Seth into the segment last minute, she wasn't prepared to work with him tonight.

In the locker room she looked in the mirror, brushing her straightened purple hair nervously. Bayley was watching her from across the room, but she pretended not to notice.

"Will you chill out dude?"

"I just wish I could've actually prepared something for it. Worked out with him where we wanted it to go. "

"Dude you never prepare for segments like that."

"Dude. I can't just freestyle this, it looks obvious."

"It doesn't. Okay Sash, calm down," Bayley took the brush out of her hand. "Was it a little heated last week? Yeah. Does that mean that everyone else saw you two completely ready to go at it? No."

"Triple H saw it."

"Triple H knows you and Seth better than anyone. You'll be fine."

Her music was booming as she made her way to the new commentary desk to cheers of the crowd. She adjusted her hair under the headset and went through the pleasantries. Dana and Bayley both made their entrances, Dana with Charlotte in toe.

"Sasha, you suggested this match up didn't you?" Michael Cole asked her.

"I didn't, y'know Bayley is one of the toughest competitors I've ever been in the ring with, but she needs to earn the opportunity to face me for this. I can't just give it out because-"

His music hit, and she looked behind her, confused. He came out in a dark button up shirt and slacks, he had the rest of the night off. She swallowed heavily and tried to shake it off, but he looked good.

"because she's my best friend. That's not-" she was cut off again as he pulled up a chair next to her and popped on a headset.

"Cole, Byron, Graves. Boss."

"That's not how things work around here." She glared at him and he laughed.

"Sorry am I interrupting something?"

"Yeah, actually. What're you doing here Rollins?"

He leaned back in his seat and smirked. "I'm a connoisseur of sorts of women's wrestling. I wanted a better seat."

"Best seat in the house," Byron said.

"I'll say," he snuck a glance at Sasha.

There was a gruffness in his voice, it sent a shiver up her spine. Was he flirting with her? Out here? The match was underway but she wasn't focused on it.

"You're a connoisseur of women's wrestling?" she asked with disbelief. "Why do I find that hard to believe?"

"You know, you've accused me of not caring about the furthering of women's wrestling, and that's just not true." He was only half looking at her, watching the match.

"Oh really?"

"Oh yeah. What I don't care about is the furthering of Sasha Banks." He turned at looked her right in the eye. Complete control. He planned this. "No one makes a name off of me. Definitely not you."

She stared him down for a moment, deciding that saying nothing was better. Turning away, she listened as he was chatting with Michael about the women in the match, how he thought Charlotte was a once in a generation wrestler. She knew he was playing the role, but it made her stomach churn. There was a role for her to play too, acting visibly annoyed and shooting him side eyes.

"I take it you disagree, Boss?" Corey prodded.

"Actually, unlike Rollins over here, I let my work speak for itself."

He sent her a sneer. "That's funny, Banks, you seem to be doing a lot of talking these days."

"Maybe she's trying to keep up with you Seth,"

"That's cute," he said with a snicker.

She turned, her eyes a flame. When she met his gaze something in them was just a little bit hungry, she knew that look well.

"Rollins. Call me cute again, and I swear you'll be wishing you never crossed my path."

A sly smile broke out on his face. "Duly noted."

He held her furious gazed until the bell rung. Sasha's head snapped back to the ring where Bayley had pinned Dana, but now was getting attacked by the two of them.

"Oh my god," Sasha slammed down the headset and slipped past Rollins in shock. She'd completely forgotten about the finish.

As she delivered a sucker punch to Dana's cheek, she could see him out of the corner of her eye, hanging around and watching it unfold, laughing to Corey about something. Her and Bayley were able to force Dana and Charlotte off, and when she looked back he was still there. He smirked at her, and picked up the Women's Championship from the chair where she'd left it in a hurry. She marched over to him as he stood up with his headset still on.

"Oh is this yours?" he goaded.

"Give that,"

She lurched for it but he was fast, and pulled it away from her, just out her reach. He was tall, even with her in those shoes, well out of her range. He smirked as he teased her just the once, then handed it over and walked off cackling to himself. At the top of the ramp he patted his own belt on his shoulder and grinned. From the distance, she could just make out his mouth moving, _who's the champ?_

XXX

"Rollins." She stormed into the office where him and Hunter were chatting. "What the hell was that?"

The two looked at her with wide eyes and Hunter closed the door behind her.

"I thought it was good," he said.

"What happened to turn down the heat?" she shot a look at Hunter, who seemed to want to stay out of it.

"Well, the thing is it did well," Seth continued, " The eye-fucking seg got ratings."

"The WHAT?"

"I didn't exactly use that terminology when I talked to her about it, Seth."

"Oh," he blushed but couldn't stop a smile from creeping onto his face

"What is going on here?" she looked back at Hunter.

"Look I told Seth to just toe the line. And you both did, so it's fine."

"It's not fine, I look like I can't focus because I'm too busy drooling over Rollins."

"That is kind of what happened…" he started and then backed off after one glance from her.

"It works though, trust me," Hunter explained, "you picked a fight with him and now it's distracting from your actual work. Doesn't have to be about attraction."

"You should've told me you were going for that, I wouldn't have looked like such an idiot."

"Sash, I got thrown into that seg 15 minutes before, just like you. I'm sorry," he met her gaze with earnest. "But you didn't look stupid, just outmatched. We'll even it out next week."

She nodded, biting on the side of her cheek. "Okay."

"And anyway," Hunter added with a laugh, "half of the Twitter feed thinks he's in love with you. Probably because he is."

"Whoa,"

"No," they were both protesting.

"It's not,"

"That's not,"

"Nope."

Hunter put a hand to his temple, "guys, I don't care. Either be professional about it, or I'm pulling the program. Tonight was good, don't go any further, and for the love of god don't get into lover's quarrels in front of everyone. Got it?"

They both nodded, and with that he turned and left them alone in the office.

"Hey," Seth stood up and tucked her hair behind her ear. "You can get me back next week, okay?"

She nodded, "I might've overreacted…sorry."

He tilted her chin up towards him. "Me too. We'll make it up tonight." He kissed her and she began to smile. "There we go."

XXX

Everyone was packing up and starting to trickle out. The next town was several hours away, most everyone would leave tonight, not tomorrow morning. Seth was waiting for Sasha by his bus in the lot when Roman called out to him.

"New Day left without me,"

"Ooh no," he laughed. The New Day van was a press your luck situation.

"I got replace by JoJo."

"Can't blame them there bud,"

"Yeah well, can I ride with you?"

"With me? Uh…yeah it's just that…" Sasha was rolling up to them now.

"What?"

"I promised Banks the pull out couch tonight."

"Hey Sasha, that's alright. You're my brother, I think we can manage to split your bed."

"Uh uh, I remember those days. You sir, are a cuddlier."

He shrugged, "it's lonely out here," he looked over at Sasha and laughed, "Seth has a very feminine figure."

"Oh yeah?" she laughed too.

"Alright, shut up, everybody shut up. Sasha at least knows how to stay on her side of the bed, don't you?"

"More than Roman does, it seems."

"You can bunk with me. Uh… if that's okay."

"Sound good, can we get on the road?" the impatience was heavy in her voice, but he suspected it came from knowing their plans were thwarted.

As the bus started rolling down the high way, Sasha sat in her pajamas on the edge of the bed, braiding her hair. Roman had gone to take a shower, and Seth returned from setting up the pull out couch. He closed the door behind him and then thought better, pushing it open again. She raised an eyebrow at him.

"It'll look suspicious."

"Whatever," she curled under the covers and scrolled through her phone.

"I'll make it up to you tomorrow," he purred in her ear, sitting on the other side of her.

She gave in for a second, kissing him roughly. Then the water stopped and they pulled away, Seth hurrying to the other side of the bed. Roman passed through in sweats.

"G'night guys."

"Night," she said, without looking up.

XXX

In the dark of the bus, Seth could hear the familiar sound of Roman snoring. Feeling safe, he rolled over at took her in his arms. She didn't protest, snuggling up against him and sneaking a kiss onto his chin. With her back to him, he took in the smell of her hair that he loved so much, and ran his fingertips over her forearm. She kept wiggling against him, her butt pressing against the increasingly tight crotch of his athletic short. He let it be the first few times, but eventually had enough, and leaned in very close to her ear.

"Keep that up, see what happens."

She giggled and wiggled again, burrowing into him.

"If you think I'm not about to do it because Ro's over there…"

When she turned towards him, he could see the glimmer in her eye even in the dark. He stole a glance over to the pull out couch next to the door, Roman was fast asleep. Meeting Sasha's eye again, he snuck his hand onto her breast, squeezing her lightly through the fabric. She inhaled sharply but didn't give it away with a moan.

His eyes were wild, his heart pounding as she squirmed under his hand. He slipped down, under the soft shorts she had worn to bed. She raised an eyebrow at him and looked back at Roman.

"He's a heavy sleeper," he whispered in her ear. "You just can't be too loud."

"I'm not the noisy one," she shot back with a devilish grin.

"That is… very fair." He bit his lip. "I'll have to busy myself."

With that, he slipped under the comforter and pulled down her shorts. He felt her squirming under him before he'd even done anything and smiled to himself. She'd be able to contain herself, but it wouldn't be easy for her. He couldn't wait to feel her buckle underneath his touch. Her hands gave away her anticipation too, one grasping at the sheet underneath them, the other in his tangled hair. She tensed up as he started, but relaxed into his rhythm. He knew what she liked: long, slow strokes, soft and teasing. Before long, her hand was running through his hair gingerly, and her hips moving with him. He switched out with his hand, coming back up for air and a long, deep kiss. This part, she liked fast. He relished at the look on her face as she tried desperately not to make a sound, and covered her mouth with his as she started to lose control. Her hands in her hair, her mouth gaping, her chest heaving, and knowing how badly she wanted to scream his name, it was beautiful.

Helping her pull back up the shorts afterwards, he leaned in close to her ear again and whispered, "that might just be the damn sexiest thing I've ever seen."

XXX

They managed to separate themselves and keep the charade going when the bus came to a halt. On his way out of the kitchen, Roman thanked him for the ride and promised him drinks one of these days. Seth smiled, knowing full well it probably wouldn't happen, but it was a nice offer. He caught Sasha's eye as she was packing up her duffle on his bed, and mimicked her face from last night. A pillow slapped him across the face as she laughed.

He'd worked a fine match at the house show, putting on a good show with Colin Cassidy in the main event. No matter how soft or tough a match was he always looked forward to the shower afterwards. The hot water felt good on his sore muscles. He wrapped a towel around his waist, stepping out of the shower and nodding to the only other person in the locker room, Roman. Up Up Down Down was filming in another room, and there was a very solid match between Charlotte and Summer Rae happening on the monitor, so everyone else was off watching one of those. He slipped his boxers and sweat pants on and began combing his hair in the mirror.

"How was your match?" Roman asked.

"Good, Cas is a good worker. You?"

"Looking forward to it," He had a main event with Kevin, with some empty talk about the road to the Universal Title. "KO's one of my best opponents."

"Hey now,"

"Other than you."

"Your family good?" He asked, continuing the small talk that had become the majority of their relationship.

"They're doing great," Roman followed suit, for a moment. "So, uh, why didn't you tell me you were sleeping with Sasha?"


	12. Chapter 12

He had said it earnestly, it wasn't a joke or a jab. Seth saw the color drain from his face in the mirror.

"I'm not? Where'd you get that idea?" he knew the answer.

"Oh c'mon," a small smile had returned to Roman's face, "I'm a sound sleeper but I'm not Ambrose. You really thought you'd get away with that?"

He didn't know what he could possibly say. "I'm…sorry about that man. I just…thought it would be fun."

"Was it?"

He felt his face flush, "yeah. I mean, in a childish kind of way."

"Good." He laughed, "look man, it's not like I enjoyed waking up to you going down on our mutual friend and co-worker,"

Seth turned around and tilted his head, apologetically.

"but, I wasn't about to get in the way of you getting laid. I know how hard it can be for you," he said with a snicker.

"Hey!" they were laughing again.

"She looked like she was enjoying herself."

"Oh she was," a smugness came across his face.

"Then I'll get over the mental image, for your sake."

"Thanks," he sat on the bench next to his friend, in a way they hadn't in a long time.

"You should just be grateful it wasn't Dean."

"Oh he would've just straight up walked out."

"He woulda given no fucks," he said with a laugh, and then his face became stoic. "Seriously though, how long?"

"A couple months or so… it's not, y'know, that serious."

"Months? Brother, you are either the one-time hook up guy, or you're the 'I'm gonna marry this girl' guy. You don't really do in-between well."

"Yeah well," he shrugged, "it's working."

"I thought you would've told me about it."

"We didn't tell anyone. Well, she told Bayley, but that was before it was a thing. And Finn found her lipstick on my cheek so he called me out, and he said Becky's pretty suspicious but he wouldn't tell her. Oh and then H found out because I acted funny when he said to tone down the 'eye-fucking' so…"

"So a shitton of people know."

He sighed, "yeah. Basically. Look it wasn't a personal thing, we just were tryin' keep it on the DL."

"You and me used to share everything that happened to us."

"Ro, I think the days of Dean and me telling you about the girls we were banging while the three of us drove to a live show are over. Dean's gone Renee, and I've got a returned engagement ring in my wallet and an almost-girlfriend who's breaking down a wall one brick at a time."

"What's that about a ring?"

"Never mind. We're not those kids anymore."

"Look, fine, you're gonna tell me what you tell me and not what you're not. But if you want my advice, 'almost-girlfriend' is kind of a shitty relationship to have with someone."

"Yeah. No arguments there."

"Sorry, if I opened that wound."

"Nah, it's alright. Sorry about the… about last night."

They laughed and Roman patted him on the back roughly before getting up for his match with Kevin.

XXX

He'd told her about Roman waking up during their rendezvous and she was mortified. She couldn't look at Roman all week, blushing and hurrying off anytime he was in the vicinity. Monday night she'd finished up a tag match with the girls, and was wandering around the backstage when he called out to her.

"Hey Sasha, you wanna watch Seth's match with me?" Roman was sitting by himself in front of a monitor, and his voice was kind and eager.

"Uh I…"

"Please, just sit down."

Speechless, she did, in the seat next to Roman, staring straight ahead.

"I'm not upset," he said with a laugh. "If that has you worried."

"I, um,"

"and I didn't see anything, if it's that."

"Thanks," she said blushing, "I just, I don't usually do things like that."

"Have you always wanted to?" he smiled at her sly and didn't wait for a response. "He has a way of making you feel like you can do anything you've ever wanted to do, doesn't he?"

"Yeah it's… incredible. And it's dangerous."

"That's our boy. Just keep your head straight on your shoulders and you'll be okay."

"I still can't believe I jumped in the shower with him in the first place."

"You know the first time I went drinking with him, I woke up with the worst hangover and I had signed up for the email newsletter at EVERY bar we'd gone to that night."

She laughed, "That sounds pretty tame."

"Yeah, I mean, it's always like something ridiculous that we laugh about for months, it's never like 'hey cheat on the love of your life.' I guess, in your case, it's never 'do something you don't want to do.'"

"Yeah no, it's not like that with him. He just… makes me feel unstoppable. I mean this program, it seemed impossible when Hunter first suggested it. I played it cool but, I was terrified. And I got in the ring with him that first time…"

"He's a ring general, in there and out of it." He nodded, "Seth says 'yes, you can,' and you believe him."

"Now you sound like the one who's sleeping with him,"

"No," he said with a laugh, "but he's my little brother and I know him better than just about anyone. Or at least, I used to. He didn't tell me about you.

"There's not much to tell," she was blushing again.

"I don't believe that." He smiled at her, nudging her lightly. "That boy does not do 'no strings attached' very well."

"Well it's not exactly no strings attached it's just…"

"What?"

"Easy breezy?" She sounded unconvinced. "Unlabeled, I guess?"

He leaned in and spoke softly, even though they were the only ones in the area.

"If I tell you what he said, you won't tell him, right? He'll kill me."

"Yeah, okay."

"An almost girlfriend. With the saddest voice I've ever heard from him, like he wanted more."

"I'm…not sure I believe that."

"Why?"

"Seth is…indecisive. He's flaky. He's…emotionally driven."

She realized how ridiculous it was for her, of all people, to be saying that, but it was true wasn't it? Roman smiled apologetically. He knew it was true.

"That doesn't mean he won't try to do better, to be better for you."

"For me?"

"That kid builds himself walls like he's putting up a new shopping mall. And trust me I've seen him fuck around, this isn't how he acts when he's fucking around. This is how he acts when he lets someone passed that wall. When he lets himself be vulnerable…outside that notebook."

"He loves that thing doesn't he?"

"Never lets anyone read it." They laughed, but he returned to a serious tone. "So if he's letting himself have that with you, it's because you're special to him."

"I'm not sure I feel special."

"Well that's because he's still Seth, overthinks everything and then can't decide what he wants. Don't let him fuck it up for himself too quickly. He's a good guy."

They sat in silence for a second, watching as Seth crawled to his feet.

"Can I ask you something?" she said quietly.

"I don't know anything about the other woman. Just that he tried to make it work and couldn't."

"No, not about that."

"Oh, I just thought…What's up?"

"What happened to you guys? I mean, he didn't **actually** hit you in the back with a chair unexpectedly,"

"Ha, no, I knew it was happening."

"So what happened?"

He sighed deeply, "it's uh, it's an ugly word but, jealousy mostly. We're all really driven guys, that's what drew us together in the first place, our competitive spirit."

"Yeah I know…" she thought back to her and the other Four Horsewomen just starting out in the performance center together.

"But sometimes that can pull you apart too. It's not like we had some massive falling out or some shit. Just stopped being so open with each other, Seth got that bus and we stopped traveling together, you know the story."

"Yeah, I do." It was hardly the first time something like that had happened.

"But I love him, and I wanna see him happy."

"And I can make him happy?"

"Sasha," he smiled at her, "you must be pretty damn blind if you can't see that you already have."

XXX

The sound of the shower was soothing as she curled up in the hotel room sheets. He'd texted her, apologizing for the 30th time that day, and offering to give it to her right. It wasn't hard to get her to give in, and now she lay in his bed, wrapped in his sheets and awaiting his return.

She had said she would make it down to the bar for drinks with the gang, and she didn't want to fall asleep without at least making up a half-hearted excuse. So she willed herself to slip out of his bed and find some of her clothes. In a tank top, she shimmed her underwear up. An extra kick of her leg sent his duffle bag off the edge of the bed. She groaned and went over to the front of the bed.

It was a mess of clothes, and she tried to return them somewhat neatly. Her hand paused on that soft cover notebook. It was a heavy thickness and the pages were well worn, he seemed to have filled up most of it. She picked it up for a moment before hearing a chuckle behind her.

"You alright there, clutz?" He was standing in the doorway in his boxer briefs, rubbing his hair with a towel and smiling.

Sasha felt a twinge of guilt, she hadn't even opened it, but still.

"That, uh, fell out." She placed it on the bed.

"Oh, that's okay," he eyed her as she put the rest of his clothes back, "what?

"Nothing, I just, y'know, that's your notebook. It's private."

He sat down on the edge of the bed next to her.

"You wanna read it?"

"What?"

"Cause you were looking at it like you wanted to read it."

"No," she shook her head, trying to disguise the obvious lie through a laugh. "I wouldn't."

"It's okay," he laughed, "there's nothing bad in there. It's not a diary, you're not gonna find the chronicles of us doing it in there."

"Oh do you have a separate one for that?"

"Obviously and I keep that under lock and key."

"So what is in there then?"

"Some story stuff like what we did a couple months ago, some fiction, some personal ramblings, no poetry I am not that guy."

She laughed and ran her fingers over the notebook again.

"Take it. I won't miss it for a couple of days." He met her gaze and held it. "You said you wanted honesty, there's nothing more honest than what's in there."

He kissed her deeply, a smile forming on her lips. They pulled apart as her phone buzzed, it was Big E, which probably meant it was the rest of them too.

"Hello?"

Sure enough the sound of a bustling bar filled the other end.

"SASHA. Where you at girl?"

"Just got caught up with something," she caught Seth's eye as he made a face at her. She'd gotten caught up with him and they both knew it.

"Are you coming down soon?" Xavier was shouting into Big E's phone "Your boy Seth abandoned us and with Finn out hurt we're down bad."

"Yeah I'll be down in a minute, yep, bye." She hung up and rolled her eyes as he began to pout. "You could come too. Wait 5 minutes, say you couldn't sleep so you figured might as well."

"I don't really feel like it, baby. Plus, I had my fun for the night."

"Please?" She kneeled on the bed, running her hands over his chest, "I think the guys miss you."

"I haven't gone anywhere."

"But things are different now?"

"Some days," he leaned down to kiss her again. "Where's this coming from?"

"No where," she shook her head, "just noticed."

"Maybe next week," he kissed her cheek and picked up a pair of tight skinny jeans from the floor. "You'll be needing these."

She redressed and tied her hair up in a ponytail. Seth was back in bed, turning on the television and settling in for the night. He held on an extra second as she kissed him goodbye. As their lips parted, she reached over and picked up the small notebook, slipping it into her handbag as she walked out.


	13. Chapter 13

In the back of the New Day's infamous van, Sasha stretched her legs to the side. They let her have the way back to herself, next to all of Xavier's gaming equipment. JoJo and Big E were in the row in front her, debating something. She wasn't really listening.

The notebook pages were soft between her fingers. She balanced that softcover notebook on her lap, flipping through his scrappy handwriting. The first entry in it was from right when he had surgery on his knee, he must've gotten a new one in the hospital. His handwriting was particularly sloppy and she had to fill in a few words here and there, he was probably still out of it when he wrote in it for the first time.

 _People say when you lose a limb your brain can still feel it. Sensations don't go away even if the nerves aren't there anymore. I wonder if the opposite is true, because somehow I can't feel my knee. It's not just the painkillers, it's not physical, obviously, it hurts like hell. But the sensation isn't quite there. Like I don't have ownership of it anymore._

There were some doodles, simple designs that he'd picked up probably in high school. A little while down on the page there was another particularly sloppy entry.

 _I hate pity. They should know that by now, I hate to be pitied. I don't need it I don't want it. All of the texts and calls, they're exhausting, I've started to let them go to voicemail, people will understand. I don't open texts or emails. I don't want to face them. But she calls and I pick up. There's a risk she'll tell Dean or someone that she spoke to me, and he'll call in a huff about why I'm ignoring them. But I can't resist, I wanna hear her voice again._

It wasn't a mention of her by name, but she was pretty sure. He picked up the phone for her after all. She flipped the page and couldn't help but smile at what was written there.

 _Redesign_

 _Reconstruct_ _Rebuild_

 _Reclaim_

 _"It's only after we've lost everything that that we're free to do anything"_

She thumbed through a few more pages, he wrote in it a lot during his recovery. Pages filled with story ideas and character arcs. One page was labeled _Seth Rollins as a face_ , another was _Seth vs. H._ He had drawn road maps of storylines and logged the painful process of rehab. Every few pages there'd be something else, a bit of a short story, something to get his mind off of his knee. But it always returned to that, he was relentless with revising his plans over and over again. It was nothing like what actually happened in the end. He thought he'd come back to an adoring crowd, which he did, and tell them how much he loved and missed them, which he didn't.

"Sash you alright back there?" Xavier's voice came from the driver's seat.

"Yeah, I'm good."

"Big E's over here hating on Pokemon Go, you gonna take that?"

"I think E just is jealous because he knows he'll never been half the trainer I am."

A while later she came across the storyline they'd developed together. Every thought one of them had that night, he'd written down. She smiled remembering how excited they'd been, it'd taken some different turns since then, it always did. But the last time she was in a program that was grounded in this much passion was… Bayley. It was the only other time. Probably because that was the last time it was this real.

She came to the end of the notes they written together. The next entry was dated the very next day.

 _It's stupid. I forgot what it felt like to wake up to someone. I think she has, too._

His feelings for her were written all over that thing. In little comments at the end of entries about something else. One page that was just line entries, each dated. It wasn't hard to figure out when they would've happened.

First, the first time he kissed her.

 _What did I just do?_

And apparently after she left that night.

 _So that's what I just did. It was dumb. She doesn't want me. I don't want her. We just both wanted to feel wanted. We got it._

The next morning.

 _Maybe that's not true._

Two days after that.

 _Dammit. She won't answer my calls, my texts. I'm thinking about sending a carrier pigeon. Does that say desperate? Am I that desperate? I must be, because I'd do anything to talk to her. To say I was just being stupid, overly emotional._

It stung to read that. She'd been hard on him. He was being a jerk, but she wouldn't listen no matter how many times he pleaded with her. She remembered listening to those voicemails, the second one especially, it sounded so sorry and so longing. Somehow, she just didn't want to hear it.

"Girl you are really engrossed back there." JoJo looked back at her.

She laughed, "Sorry did I miss something?"

"What're you reading?" Xavier asked.

"Uh, sexy FanFiction," she said sarcastically.

"Oh well, in that case we'll leave you to it." Big E laughed.

After Battleground, he started writing more fiction, with the occasional note about some interaction he'd had with Roman or about how her hair smelled. There was an entire page dedicated to the description of that, it made her laugh out loud. But mostly, since he lost the title, he seemed to need a distraction or two. Was that what she was? No. Right? Definitely not.

He like sci-fi and fantasy, she knew he was a nerd but not quite to that extent. It was good stuff, things she would pay to buy a book of. She wondered if she should tell him that or if his ego really needed any inflation. That was unfair, she realized after she thought it. Seth's ego wasn't inflated, it was fragile and possibly permanently broken.

She wished she knew why. Maybe it wasn't one simple thing that made him feel like he constantly needed to be proving himself, in the ring, in his interviews…in bed too. He needed to know he was the best she'd ever had. Whatever, she'd appease that, it was true enough, he was very good. Best was one of those things, no one is ever really the best. That doesn't exist. You just are good enough that you can tell yourself you're the best and it doesn't feel like a lie.

After SummerSlam, his mood lightened, It'd only been a month, they were on their way to Clash of Champions now. Still, in those pages, she could feel the lightness in his writing. He was writing story ideas again, maybe he felt like he actually had something to look forward to again. And he wrote about her, it wasn't dirty, which she half expected to find, just the words he didn't know how to say out loud to her.

 _Maybe I'm imagining it. But when she's curled up next to me, the world seems to stop. I love everything about her. My mom used to say that love was when you found yourself loving even the things you hate. I never believed her. I still don't. But it's getting harder, every day, to convince myself that I don't believe in love anymore. I love the way she blew up at me after the segment got too hot. It made me think, for a moment, maybe it was because she really does need me as badly as I need her. I didn't mean to make her mad, but damn if it doesn't feel good to be wanted again. I'll make it up to her, I'll make sure she knows that I want her that much too._

That was just a couple weeks ago, and boy did he ever, in the bed of his tour bus. That, of course, lead to yet another fight, less of a fight, more of a spat. She took off, pissed that she'd let him talk her into that. And he apologized, again and again, saying he just was trying to give her what she wanted. That pissed her off even more until Roman smoothed things over for him. Seth always needed a translator.

That was the last filled page of the notebook, she'd read all of it. Part of her felt like she'd snuck a glance at him changing, seen him somehow she shouldn't. But that wasn't it at all, he'd let her in, he'd wanted her to see that rawness. She leaned her head against the window, exhausted, and drifted off to sleep.

XXX

Seth walked down to the arena, a giant sheet cake in his arms, smirking to himself. He'd been feeling out of the group for the last month since what happened with Finn, and cake was always the best way to make amends. Plus it was a minor pay per view, so the energy would be nervous, and could use a pick up.

"Check it out boys," he said as he came up to Kevin and Sami backstage. They laughed as he opened the lid to show the icing writing _Keep it tight!_ on the cake.

They grabbed one of the camera guys who had gotten friendly with them and recorded an intro, explaining it was the one-year birthday of Up Up Down Down and Seth had taken the liberty to buy them a cake.

"I'm only here because I think it's gonna go everywhere." Kevin said as they walked into the locker room.

Seth walked up with the cake to a surprised Xavier Woods and announcing the one-year birthday and how he, as the Madden Champion of the world had taken it upon himself to make sure it was properly celebrated.

"What, What is this?"

"It started as an idea and now it has grown into something bigger than any of us could've ever dreamed," he proclaimed as Xavier was cheesing. "So from all of us here at WWE, keep it tight."

He smashed the cake into Xavier's face to cheers and laughter from the rest of the room.

"Oh wow," said Big E in monotone. Kofi was laughing as he moved away from Xavier.

Sami nodded to Kevin as he said, "didn't I tell you?"

"I thought it was going to happen," Xavier said through a laugh, icing falling off his face, "but I wasn't sure."

Seth cackled to himself and glanced around, he expected Sasha to be with them, she had traveled with them last night. He'd have to tell her about it later. He pulled his mind back to what was happening as he realized Xavier was tossing the cake at him. It slapped him across the back, icing dripping down the back of his shirt as he hit the wall and whined.

"Noooo, I knew I should've left the room!"

"You should've, here," Xavier fed him a piece of the cake soaked with icing.

"There's so much frosting," he said turning his back to show the camera, a solid layer of it had come off onto his shirt, the back of his neck and down his back. "This is my last shirt for the week too."

They laughed some more, and it felt good to laugh with them like this again. JoJo and Sasha walked past the open door, and Xavier called out to them.

"JoJo sing Up Up Down Down happy birthday!"

"No I just, I just wanna eat cake," she laughed at them.

Sasha's eyes were on Seth, questioning.

"You guys want straight up frosting?" he asked tipping his shoulder down to them.

They both scooped up a bit of the layer of icing on his shirt, Sasha's eyes on him. _Don't you do it_ he took a glance back at the camera, it was on Kevin who was saying something about the cake. She placed the finger in her mouth and gave him a look as she slowly pulled it out. It sent a throb down to his shorts, only half listening to Xavier saying a goodbye to the camera. He pulled off the dirty shirt, his back still covered in the stuff. Sasha met his gaze and he smirked, teasing her with a quick flex. In the bathroom he attempted to wipe it off as the group continued to make a fuss, with JoJo getting Summer and then Renee, who was doing the preshow tonight.

"Why did it make her dance?" he heard Xavier laugh in a high-pitched voice.

Renee followed the camera guy's lead into the bathroom, where Seth laughed and nodded to her. Sasha was standing on the other side of the door, rolling her eyes.

"I was like what am I walking into," She laughed, "I mean I like you but I don't need to know that much about you."

"Yeah there's a lot of cake."

"Did you get caked?" she asked him to a heavy sigh, and then turned to the camera, "look at this thick body."

"Heavyweight Rollins here, yeah, I got caked in the neck…" He pulled up his destroyed shirt to show her as Xavier bragged about throwing it clear across the room at him.

The boys went back to recording their episode and Sasha looked over at him with big brown eyes. She looked innocent, but he could see the hunger boiling underneath.

"You want help?"

"Yeah, actually,"

She took the wet paper towel and moved around his neck, actually able to see the mess. Her touch set him on fire. When she got to the front and wiped the last bit off of his neck, the heat was rising between them again. He looked down over her and said, very quietly so that only she could hear,

"You wanna go somewhere?"

She nodded and slipped out, waving to the New Day as she left the room.

"I'm gonna go find myself a shirt and get to an interview," he said after giving her a minute head start.

"Okay thanks for the present man!" Xavier called, not even looking back.

She was waiting for him outside the door, and followed him until he slipped into a closet. Locking the door behind her he pushed her against it, rolling his hips. He ran his hands up and down her tight athletic crops, teasing her inner thigh. She gasped and looked back at the door nervously.

"If we get caught," he said in a husky whisper, "I will take all the blame. Hunter'll give me a lecture on keeping it in my pants and it'll be fine."

"Okay…" she reached up and kissed him and he hoisted her tank top up, reaching around to the clasp of her bra. Undoing that with a quick pinch, he pushed it up too, his rough hands making her squirm as he squeezed her and rolled both nipples.

She grasped at his neck, running her hands over his bare chest. He ran his lips over her neck as she struggled to contain a moan. In an instant, his sweatpants were down and so were her yoga pants. He reached down to test the waters, and was greeted with a low moan from her mouth.

"You ready to go?"

"Yeah," she said breathily, "I can see you are."

He smirked, "Oh baby, with you, I'm always ready."

Her breath left her as he pushed in and began a rough rhythm. She kept her moans to herself for the most part, but he didn't bother. Someone would have to be basically right up against the door to hear them anyway. It was good, wild and quick, a nice change of pace to their usual nights wrapped in the sheets of hotel beds. He loved spending all night at it, and god knows she could keep it interesting for hours if she felt like it, but this was untamed and exciting. Every thrust mattered, he liked the pressure to perform and she seemed to like the roughness of his body against hers.

He made sure to get here there fast, the longer they disappeared for, the more likely someone was to come looking. It didn't take much, he knew all of her sweet spots. Watching her unravel, her legs wrapped around his waist, tipping her head back as a shiver came over her body, it set him off. He lowered her down gently and helped her pants back up.

"This was a nice surprise," she cooed in his ear

"I'm full of 'em."

"Clearly," she laughed as she watched him pull up his sweat pants and wink at her.

She stood off to the side as he opened the door to check that the coast was clear. His eyes were wide as he poked his head out and saw the entire group from earlier waiting for him.

"There he is!" They all cheered him and his face drained of color.

"Guys…" he put his hand out to tell Sasha to stay back. They hadn't seen her, and they didn't have to.

"Yeah see Renee remembered that you're not on the interview schedule for today so we figured, there was only one logical explanation," Xavier explained with a grin.

"That I was in a closet?"

"With a lady. And so we followed you down and sure enough,"

"You are a loud one, son," Big E finished.

"Well when you have your ear pressed against the door,"

"Touché. Where'd Sasha run off too?" Xavier looked around, "Does she know about this girl?"

"Sasha? I don't know."

"What will wifey say, Seth?" Kofi teased, "you doing it with a chick at work?"

"Okay guys, this is what's gonna happen here. I'm gonna walk out and close this door behind me, and we are all going to walk away and get me a new shirt. Okay? You can make fun of me all you want but no one sticks around, no one bothers her. Deal?"

"Are you protecting her?" JoJo said with a little smile, looking at Renee. "That's so cute."

"Deal?"

"Yeah man," Xavier said seriously, "we're not trying to embarrass anyone."

"Okay," he slipped out and closed the door on her quickly, herding the group back towards the merch table.

Sasha slipped out a moment later, they were turning the corner, distracted by Seth. He did say he'd take the blame after all. She was a second too early though, Renee was still turning and must've caught the corner of her eye. She turned her head and Sasha froze, but she offered a smile and a nod. No one else had to know.


	14. Chapter 14

"Don't pout at me like that," she was stretched out on her stomach on his hotel room bed after the next night's Raw. "I'm just saying we need to be more careful."

"More careful meaning less fun." He looked up at her from the floor where he was desperately trying to work out a cramp in his leg.

"Only if you find maybe getting caught fun."

He smirked, "a little." The look on her face told him that she was not amused. "Okay okay, whatever you want. You're the boss."

"Don't you forget it."

He gave her a smile that turned into a wince from his leg.

"Do you want help with that?"

"You mind?"

"Here," she slipped down to the floor and positioned herself in between his legs, pushing on the right one gently. "This okay?"

His heart rate was climbing as her fingertips move along his thigh. "Yeah, that's good."

"I have your journal by the way," she said, stretching out his leg.

"Oh yeah? What'd you think?"

"You're talented, not that you needed me to tell you that."

"Oh but it sounds so much better coming from you, Banks." He leaned back, his head cradled in his hands.

"And you are…sweet and open and kind in there. It's a different side of you. Reading it felt…intimate."

"If I didn't know any better," he said with a sly smile, "I'd think you were falling for me."

"Definitely not," she said with a laugh but the red in her cheeks said otherwise.

"Can you push a little bit more?"

"Like this?" she leaned in with his bent leg, deepening the stretch.

"Hmm, bit more…"

As she pushed it deeper he moved his leg from under her hands, wrapping it around her and pulling her to him. She laughed, knowing full well it was always going to end like this, he never made any effort to keep his hands off of her.

"Just like that, ha ha ha," he grinned and wrapped his arms around her neck, trapping her in further, and brought her down to a kiss.

She rolled her hips over his, running her hands through his long hair and leaning into the kiss.

"Well if it gets you going like this, you can read it whenever you want," he said with smile.

"I just wish you could be that real with me all the time," she moved some of his hair from his face.

"I am,"

She gave him a look.

"Okay, I'll try." He pulled her in for another kiss, and pouted again as she pushed herself up after it.

"I need a shower, and you need to learn some self control."

"I have plenty, I just choose not to listen to it," he said with a wink.

She smiled coyly at him as she closed the bathroom door behind her. He returned to the bed, flipping around channels to find something to curl up with her in front of. The thought itself made him laugh. How'd he get here, with a girl like Sasha, watching episodes of America Ninja Warrior on a Monday night? Whatever, it made him happy. As far as long-term hook ups went, this one was pretty incredible.

A buzzing broke him out of his thoughts. He glanced over to the table where their phones sat. It was Sasha's, with its distinctive cheeky phone case, but the name on it surprised him. Maybe part of him said not to do it, but he ignored that part and hit answer.

"Bryce." His tone was gruff and stern.

"Oh uh, Seth?"

"Yep."

"I was looking for Sasha," he sounded confused, but not nervous.

"She's in the shower."

"Okay, well-"

"Why are you calling her?"

"I mean, not that it's really your business man, but I've got a conference up in Boston next week, I wanted to see if she was around."

"You're not seriously asking her out,"

"What if I am? You said you two were seeing each other and fooling around a bit, but it wasn't anything serious."

"I know what I said."

"Have things changed since then?"

"No."

"Then what's your damage dude? Doesn't 'not serious' mean you can date other people?"

"I mean, I guess. Don't you think that's a little weird though? Being with a girl I've already been with? You really want her comparing us?"

"Oh, right, I forgot," the sarcasm in his voice was biting. "You're an elite athlete, you must be the most incredible lover, who could possibly measure up to you?"

"I just think you can find someone else to chase after. She's not interested."

"Really, cause I think I'd rather hear it from her."

"She'll tell you the same."

"Why, because so in love with you?"

Seth's stomach dropped. Bryce continued the final blow.

"Because you know Seth, you're kinda sounding like the jealous boyfriend right now. Last time I checked she wasn't yours to begin with, because you didn't want it that way. So either you're being a dick, and a shit friend, or you're the one who's in love."

"It's not like that," he said through gritted teeth. "I'm not that guy right now and you know it."

"Well excuse me for trying to be that guy to a woman you'll never call your girlfriend."

"Back off Bryce. I won't tell you again."

"Fine. But I'm not the only guy who's gonna be a threat, you realize that right?"

"Goodbye Bryce."

"Yeah, bye."

The phone clicked and it went silent. Seth put it back where it was sitting before and grabbed a pillow to scream into. What kind of friend would do that? Wasn't it like, against bro code or something? Not that he'd ever really followed those stupid things. It wasn't a jealousy thing, it was a principle thing, he told himself over and over again. Sasha wasn't _his_ necessarily, but that didn't mean she wasn't off limits to his friends. Right? His mind ran around in circles, trying to find explanations that didn't involve admitting she was special to him. He couldn't. He wouldn't.

The water stopped and Seth composed himself. His eyes followed her as she walked in, wrapped in a towel. She laughed, catching his eye in the mirror.

"What's that look?"

"What look?" he asked, his voice thick.

"That hungry look," she teased.

"I just think," he sat up and placed his hands on her hips, pulling her towards the bed, "that towel belongs on the ground."

"Is that what you think?"

His hands were running up the fold of the towel, unraveling it and dropping it to the ground.

"Much better." In a swoop he had her under him on the bed, laughing and enjoying his touch. He pulled his shirt off and kissed the crook of her neck. "I need you."

"Need me!" she teased, but his eyes were completely serious.

"Yes. Need you. I need your body, now." He returned to kissing her.

"Hey, Seth, hold up,"

"Sasha, please,"

"What's this about?" her eyes were fixed on him.

"It's not about anything," he ran his hands up to her chest and rolled her with his thumbs. "You love the power game as much as I do."

"Of course I do," she said, holding back a moan, "but you initiate it like this when you're frustrated about something. Like a match or-ah-"

He smirked, pinching her lightly, "you were saying?"

"Okay, you win. But you can talk to me."

"Banks, I know that. But right now, that's not what I wanna do."

"And what do you want? Say it."

He leaned into her ear and whispered, "to screw you. Hard." He smirked, "If it pleases you."

She laughed, "I think it'll please me."

"Oh I know it will, baby. Get on top."

She bit her lip as he rolled over to his back, smirking. This was all he needed. They spent a while rolling around in the sheets, breathing heavily. She obliged his request for something hard and rough, they both liked it that way. He pushed her down to the bed, listening to her moaning and smirking to himself. It was easy to tell when she was close, and he leaned down and whispered in her ear. She laughed at the suggestion, until he slowed his rhythm down to a painful speed.

"Say it, c'mon," he taunted her.

"I'm not-"

"I know you want too,"

Her cheeks flushed, and she admitted defeat. "Fine, but hurry up first."

He pushed in harder as he leaned in close and she moaned in his ear.

"Heavyweight Rollins," she bit her lip as the words came out of her mouth. "Happy?"

He cackled and responded by revving up his speed and roughness. She lost her composure quickly, and he wasn't far behind her. He pulled out and situated himself next to her, pulling her into his arms.

"Okay, that was pretty good," she said with a snicker, tracing circles on his bare chest.

"Told ya I needed you." He looked down at her naked body curled up next to him. She rolled her eyes and he whispered in her ear again. "And I told you I would please you."

"Yeah well, doesn't take much. Not much more than you."

"As me? Are you calling me easy?"

"I mean," she laughed, "am I wrong?"

He half smiled at her, "well when you laugh, and you blush, and you bite that lip of yours, yeah I'm easy."

"Wow, romantic," she said, planting a kiss on his cheek. "Are you sure there's nothing you want to tell me?"

"What are you expecting to hear, Sash?"

"I don't know," she glanced down, "it just seems like something's on your mind. "

"I…" the words stuck in his throat. She looked at him seriously, waiting for what was coming next.

 _Love you._ Was she thinking it too? No, it must just be in his imagination. Wishful thinking. This wasn't his strong suit, that's why they weren't attending each other's events and posting cutesy photos on Instagram. They weren't a couple because coupling wasn't what either of them wanted. He didn't love her, he reminded himself, because he didn't believe in love.

He shook his head, "never mind."

Her eyes were disappointed, but she nodded. "Okay, but you can, if you need to."

"What I need, is a shower," he slipped out from underneath her and closed the bathroom door behind him without glancing back.

XXX

He'd largely avoided her all week. It wasn't hard, they were in different portions of the live shows, and she wanted to go out with their friends more often. If it raised any suspicion from Sasha, she let him be. Monday night rolled around, and there was no more dodging, they were in a mixed tag. Him with Charlotte and her with Sami. He found the three of them sitting around a table in catering, talking through spots.

"Seth, perfect," Charlotte waved him over, "you two need to figure out how to work in your feud throughout the tag."

"We figured you could give her a hard time while beating me up," Sami offered, "We can work just outside her reach and you could taunt her."

Charlotte laughed, "Okay but Sami's example sounded dirty, so maybe don't shout 'you like that Banks?' at her?"

"Yeah," Seth laughed nervously, "I won't."

"And Sami can hot tag me," Sasha said, moving her hair to one side, "and you can go slowly over to Charlotte, making me, not to mention everyone else, wait for the action."

"I can do that."

"Alright, I'm gonna go to hair and makeup," Charlotte stood up, "I'll see you guys down there."

"I'll come with you, Kevin's down that way doing a photo shoot." Sami followed her out, leave them alone again. Normally Seth relished these little moments with Sasha, but his stomach was churning.

"Hey," she leaned in and whispered, "are we okay?"

"Yeah, we're good, of course."

"Listen I'm sorry if I pushed too hard last week,"

"It's fine,"

"Is it?"

"Yeah, Sash, I've just had a lot on my mind."

"I just want you to talk to me."

"I do talk to you," he glanced around to make sure no one was paying attention to them. "But we also did this the way that we did this because we wanted to keep it light and simple. Didn't we?"

She swallowed, but nodded. "Yeah, I guess we did."

"So I just needed to be alone with my thoughts last week," he shrugged, "it wasn't about not wanting you."

"Okay. Well, I should head over to make up too."

"I'll see you in the ring, Banks," he said with that sweet smile.

She wandered over to the hair and makeup station as Charlotte was finishing up.

"Hey," she smiled at Sasha as her hair was braided back in a fishtail. "Is Seth okay?"

"Yeah, I mean, as far as I know. Why?" She sat down in the chair across from her.

"He seemed a little off."

"He gets that way sometimes."

"Sami said he thought it might be about what Bret Hart said last week."

"Oh," Sasha sighed as her hair was pulled back into a high ponytail. "That, yeah, that seems obvious now."

"People say a lot of things when you're in the spotlight like that. It probably just got under his skin."

"Yeah well, I don't blame him. I'd be pretty upset if someone was saying I was a danger to work with."

"Hmm, me too."

"We'll just go, have a good match, and he'll feel good off of that for a week."

"Good by me."

XXX

The match went near perfect, the hot tag spot got the crowd riled up. If she was honest, watching him, shirtless, smirking at her as he slowly backed up and teased the tag, it got her pretty riled up too. He pinned Sami, grinning up at her, and gave her a wink as he walked off. But backstage, he was back in that mood. The chatter around bar plans went the way it always did, but Seth said he was just going to go back to his suite. She thought about that first night, him showing up at her door unwilling to let her be upset alone, and figured it was time to return the gesture.

It was late, she had to make an appearance at the bar and stop by the store for a six-pack, but he wouldn't be asleep yet. Probably up, writing in his notebook or watching a CrossFit video on his computer. She knocked at his door, and after a moment he opened it in just his boxers.

"Oh, Sash, hey,"

"Hey," she pushed passed him, not wanting to get caught at his doorstep, "I know you said you needed some time with your thoughts, but I'm not letting you sulk by yourself,"

"Um, thanks, I'm really, I'm okay…"

"If this is about what Bret said,"

"Bret? Oh, that," his eyes were wide, glancing back at the bedroom, "yeah, no, that stung but, I'm not hung up on it."

"Okay, well whatever it is-"

"Sash." His voice was low and he grabbed her arm lightly. "This **really** isn't a good time."

She furrowed her brow and then looked over her shoulder, following his nervous gaze. The door to the bedroom was closed, the curtains drawn, but she got the hint.

"Oh my god,"

"Sash,"

She shook her head. "I feel so stupid."


	15. Chapter 15

A knock came at her door early the next morning, she'd hardly slept at all. Seth stood in the door, two cups of coffee in his hands. She let him in, not saying anything.

"Sash…"

She shook her head, "I can't believe how dumb I was."

"I'm sorry,"

"No, you're not. You're sorry I came by." She took a sip of the coffee, he knew her order by this point.

"I…I thought you understood what was happening here."

"Yeah, me too."

"Sash…" he said again, sitting down on the edge bed next to her. "Things have been getting kinda heavy between us, I know, but that's not what either of us said we wanted."

"You said you would be honest with me."

"I'm sorry," his tone changed, half a laugh, "do you **want** me to call you every time I have a hook up?"

She scoffed, getting up from the bed and returning to her packing.

"Okay," he sighed, "that came out wrong."

"Has this been happening all along?"

"No," he shook his head, "I hadn't bothered pursuing anyone else."

"Until last night."

"Right, until last night."

"Who is she?"

"A fan."

Sasha laughed out loud bitterly.

"We got together about a year ago, last time we were in town. She texted me yesterday and I was…"

"Lonely? Go ahead, say it."

"Hey, you didn't want this to be thing, remember?"

"Yeah I remember."

"We were always free to see other people, and if you wanted something other than that, you should've just said so."

"Okay, fine. You win."

"I'm not trying to win, dammit Sasha." He slammed his coffee cup down on the table. "I'm trying to figure out what you want."

"Nothing," she said in a huff, "I don't want anything."

"Anything?" his tone softened, "at all?"

"Not if I'm sharing you with any groupie who texts you when you're horny."

"Don't…Sasha…"

"It's fine,"

"It's not fine, I'm not giving you up like that."

"I'm not yours to give up."

He gulped, "what's it going to take?"

"Maybe this ran its course, Seth." She held back tears.

"I don't accept that. What do you want?"

"I'm not gonna be okay with being one of many, I'm just not."

"You want the other girls gone? That's all it'll take? You and me go back to how it was before last night?"

"Yes," all she wanted was to have that back, now that it was slipping out of her grasp.

"Done."

"Seth,"

"No, there's nothing left to discuss, it's done."

"And the girl?"

"She didn't even stay the night. Sash, she means nothing to me. I get that that's hardly the most valiant thing to say but it's true. She's an escape from my real life. But you are what I want."

"Okay." There was no use fighting it. She always knew he was bound to bolt, at least this time he came crawling back.

He sat on the floor next to her, and kissed her lightly.

"I'd give up sex with some girl any night of the week to watch Netflix in bed with you. I would."

She laughed and kissed him back. It would do, for now.

XXX

So it was back to the way things were, it made them both happy at least. It was easier to pretend things were less complicated than to actually uncomplicated them, and neither of them had time to make things harder. Of course, nothing was ever actually back to normal. He'd catch a suspicious look from her any time his phone buzzed when they were together, but she'd never say anything. It was like she kept wanting to, but the words never came out. He let it be, accepting he'd rather wonder what was on her mind than hear that she was over the hassle.

Their program continued, and they tried their hardest to keep it from being obvious that they were finishing every night wrapped up in sheets together. They kept trudging along, putting on great matches and cutting promos. Jockeying for position, trying to outdo each other, they built the program slowly and made sure they were always in each other's way.

October came and went. Hell in a Cell came quickly. Charlotte and Sasha had petitioned for a cell match, unsuccessfully. Seth had even tried to talk to Hunter about it, but he wouldn't hear it, it was too violent. Next year, maybe, was all he was able to say to her as he wiped a tear from her cheek.

The Saturday before, he drove up to her apartment in Boston, and when she opened the door he could tell immediately she was in a mood about it. He didn't say a word, knowing he wasn't really one to be talking. It took a lot of disappointment to get Sasha like this, much more than it did him. Distracting her with American Horror Story seemed to be a safer option. She seemed cheerier by the time he said he needed to take a shower, but was still quieter than normal, smiling at him shyly.

He returned several minutes later, rubbing his hair with a towel, she was flipping through a fitness magazine on her bed. Something was different in her face.

"Your phone's been buzzing," she said, nodding to it on the table.

Picking it up he saw the image that would've lit up his phone. There was no way she missed it.

"I didn't ask for these."

"Uh huh," she said nonchalantly, not looking up.

"She's just trying to get my attention."

"Good strategy," again, her voice was clam and biting.

"I'll block the number."

"Do whatever you want"

"I wanna block the number." God it would be so much easier if she would just yell at him.

"Okay." Again, she kept a tone that was so clam it shook him.

"What?"

"Nothing, I said okay," she glanced up at him.

"Say it."

"Say what, Seth?"

"Whatever it is that you're not saying to me. Jesus, I'm trying to fix this here."

"She have pictures of you?"

"Really?" he groaned, running his fingers through his hair. "We're going **there**?"

"Whatever, don't answer that."

"Sash."

"It's fine. You said you didn't ask for those pictures."

"I need you to trust me."

"Trust you?" she glared up at him, he'd finally hit that nerve. "What exactly have you done to make me trust you? A few flowery sentences?"

"I know, Sash, I'm sorry. I'm sorry about the other girls who were in my life before you told me you wanted to be exclusive."

"Yeah, that sounds sincere," she said with an eye roll.

"Okay, I get it, I haven't had the best history. But if this is going to work, I need you to put that aside and just trust me."

"Why would I do that?" her voice raised and high pitched.

"Because that's how love works sometimes!" He matched the level of her voice.

She scoffed, pushing past him to the bathroom. "Love? This isn't love Rollins. This is just sex."

"Just sex?" he said quietly, his stomach in knots. " **Just** sex Banks? All of this, everything between us was just sex?"

"I thought that's what you were after." She brushed her hair in the mirror, not looking at him.

"Baby, it's not," he said softly

"Oh don't call me baby, don't play that game."

His blood was boiling. Why wouldn't she just listen to him? Why was she so convinced everything he had said to her, or written about her, was a lie? There was no point in trying to make her understand. Fine then, he pushed that away.

"You want just sex?" He came up behind her, growling in her ear, "I'll show you just sex."

She turned and kissed him roughly. It felt a little hallow, but they went through the motions, making their way back to her bed and thrashing around in it for a while. What's that they said about angry sex being the best? It was bullshit, whatever it was. She wouldn't look deep into his eyes and giggle flirtatiously, running her lips over his. All he wanted was to hold her close and whisper an apology in her ear, but his pride got the better of him. Maybe hers did too. He just left her breathless and grumpy next to him as they fell asleep.

In the morning, it was like nothing had happened. She returned to the funky mood she'd been in since he arrived yesterday, but didn't lash out at him. He was grateful for that much. Neither of them mentioned the pictures on his phone or her implication that he'd been lying all along. They drove to the arena, making small talk about the card and the Boston crowd.

They parted at the locker rooms, and he stole a kiss on her cheek but didn't complain when she only smiled lightly, walking off without a word. He couldn't worry about whether she was still pissed at him or not, he had a cell match with Kevin Owens, it would be brutal and messy. She made her way down to the ring, trying to hold in her disappointment as she waved to her home crowd. He watched from the locker room, combing his hair. Her and Charlotte were 2 matches ahead of him and he really should've been focusing on mentally preparing, but he couldn't help it.

She handed her title over to the ref and began a long, tough bout with Charlotte. They'd agreed that if they couldn't get a cell lowered, they were at least going to put on a match as rough as the boys. There were a lot of scary spots, she sold better than just about anyone in the business, contorting her body to make it seem like she'd actually been hurt. It was probably all the damn yoga.

"Oh ow," Sami exclaimed after she took a rough bump from the top of the ropes.

Seth hung back, hoping no one would see how nervous he got every time she did a move.

"Your girl is tough, man," Kevin said, impressed by a particularly risky spot.

"She's not my girl."

"Okay?" Kevin knitted his brow, confused by the response. "Well she's tough."

Sami glanced back at him with a raised eyebrow. Had Finn said something? It was a hard twenty minutes for Seth. He was glad she'd gotten the time she wanted, and damn if she wasn't giving it all she had. But his heart stopped every time she took a bump, and there were a lot of them in a match like this. Finally she reversed the Figure 8, pushing Charlotte onto her stomach and reaching back to grab her hair. The room seemed to hold its breath. Charlotte tapped, screaming. The crowd erupted, so did the locker room. Sami glanced back at Seth again, and he bolted towards guerilla.

He barely made it there in time. She came through, smiling at him and Hunter as they congratulated her on a great match.

"See," Hunter said, shrugging, "you two didn't even need the cell."

"Right," she said rolling her eyes as she hugged him.

"Good work, Banks, you trying to give me a heart attack?"

She didn't respond, but accepted his hug. He held her for a second, kissing her cheek before she slipped out and walked off. Seth sighed and Hunter raised an eyebrow. He waited for Charlotte to come through and the blow off match to start before he questioned Seth.

"You two okay?"

"Yeah…yeah just a fight. It's fine."

"What'd you do?"

"Why're you assuming it was my fault?"

"Well."

"Alright, alright, enough. Yeah she's been having some trouble trusting me recently. But she's also not telling me how she feels. How am I supposed to know what to do?"

"You ever notice that Sasha is a lot like you?"

Seth rolled his eyes, "Yeah, some people have said that."

"Maybe you should think about that when you're trying to make it right. Or you know, try flowers." He shrugged.

XXX

She sat with Bayley in front of a monitor, watching the main event, but she spent most of it on her phone. The second his music hit, she checked out.

"Dude, what're you doing?"

"Uh Twitter?"

"Set's in a Hell in a Cell, and you're on Twitter?"

"He'll be fine, he's tough."

"What happened?"

"When?"

"You're clearly pissed at him, what happened?"

She sighed, Bayley was giving her that look.

"We just had a fight. A girl sent him some more pictures, he said he didn't ask for them, I said I didn't care, he asked me to trust him, I got mad, he got mad, we had some angry fighting sex and called it a night. End scene. It's fine."

"That doesn't sound fine."

"It's stupid, okay, I'll admit it. He was trying to apologize. I got upset and overreacted, but he doesn't exactly have the greatest track record when it comes to his word."

"I thought you were upset that he was keeping his guard up?"

"Yeah, but-"

"So why are you doing it to him?"

"Because it hurts to think that the whole thing might be a lie."

"Might?"

"I know I know, I'm hanging a lot on a 'might' okay?"

Bayley laughed, "you two are so alike."

"I know," she grumbled.

"Look, if you wanna dump him, I'm with you 100%. But you act like you really want to be with him, so I think if you want him to be honest with you, you might wanna try being honest with him."

"Why are you always right?"

"It's my many years of wisdom." They laughed, then Bayley looked back to the screen. "Oh my god."

"What?" Sasha looked up, he was bleeding, not terribly, but it looked like he'd taken an elbow to the eye. "Oh shit."

He went up to the top rope for a phoenix splash, and he looked a bit shaky. The spot when off fine, ending with Kevin getting pinned in the middle of the ring. Seth lifted up his title, but grabbed his knee, his right knee.

XXX

In the trainers room he squirmed from the stiches on his eyebrow and pressed an icepack to his knee. He sighed when she walked in, her NXT sweatshirt covering her gear, and her hair pushed to one side.

"Hey," he said, making room for her on the table.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah just tweaked it, it's fine."

She ran her fingers over his eyebrow, the black and blue already coming through around his eye. He flinched a little, but her touch felt good. Their eyes met and he smiled.

"This scares me," she said quietly, just above a whisper, even though they were alone.

"Me getting pummeled in a steel cage?"

"No," she laughed, "this."

He kissed her cheek, tucking her hair behind an ear. "Yeah, it scares the shit out of me too."

"I'm sorry. If I freaked."

"Me too. I got mad over what you said for no reason. "

"This isn't just sex."

"Thank god," he laughed, "just sex kinda sucked."

"Hey!" She nudged him playfully.

"I know what you sound like when you're having a good time, that wasn't it."

"Yeah, okay."

"I'd rather have what we had going."

She nodded, "it was pretty good."

"Plus a little bit more trust? That's what I need, Sash."

"I…I can do that."

"What do you need?"

She sighed, "to back off the L word?"

His stomach dropped, but he hid it. "Yeah, of course."

Who was he kidding? He'd brought this on himself, there was no one else to blame. He'd let himself begin to believe that maybe she was falling in love with him and maybe he was falling in love with her. What a stupid idea. It didn't matter, he'd dump it all into a punching bag tomorrow and go back to what was making him happy. She didn't wanna hear it, he didn't wanna say it. He didn't wanna become that desperate guy following her around like a puppy dog. And she didn't want a boyfriend that much was clear. There was no point hanging on for more when he could just enjoy what he had.

She leaned in and kissed him, soft and tender. That kiss felt better than it had in weeks. He wrapped his arms around her neck, pulling her into it until they heard someone clear their throat from the doorway. They pulled apart quickly, Hunter was leaning up against the doorframe, laughing.

"You two really suck at keeping it a secret."

"Oh cut it out Trips, didn't you get caught making out in a mall?"

"It was in a stairwell…at a mall."

"Oh, romantic."

"So now can I book you together without you freaking out?"

"Yeah," Sasha slipped off the table, "that's fine."

"Good, we're full steam ahead to Survivor Series, and I want you two tagging against SmackDown."

"Are you asking us to work together?" She said, unconvinced, "That might be asking too much."

"You'll figure it out."


	16. Chapter 16

He held his breath as her music filled the arena. They'd kept him off last week, selling the injury from Hell in a Cell to keep the feud alive between him and Kevin but it was time to ramp things up between them. She walked down in a tight crop top and long blue skirt that moved with her every step. The belt low on her waist, she smirked at him.

"How ya feeling, champ?" she taunted him, climbing into the ring.

"Ha, I'm just fine. See Banks, you step into that cell, you know full well you're gonna need a few stitches."

"Oh that's nice Rollins, but actually I was talking about your ego."

"My ego? Ha ha ha, I should be asking you that. Rough week?"

"I beat Charlotte in the middle of the ring, fair and square."

"You got lucky, and after getting your ass kicked."

"Oh come off it," She walked towards him closing the space between them, "we've been doing this for months, can you seriously not admit that I am just as good as you?"

"As good? No." He chuckled, circling her. "But I'll give you that some people found your fight last week to be…impressive."

"Impressive? We brought the house down. No, sorry, **I** brought the house down. You may have gotten the main event, but at the end of the night there was only one true champion, and that's me. Just admit it."

"Ha ha ha," he stepped closer to her "why are you so desperate for my approval Boss? You got a little crush?"

Her eyes narrowed, he was going to pay for that tonight.

"I've been knocking you off your throne for weeks, Rollins." She moved passed it effortlessly. "Yet, you still walk around here with that condescending smile and your sense of entitlement."

"Did you forget your glasses this morning Banks? Or are you just so delusional that you actually refuse to see that I run this place. So yeah, I'm entitled. Entitled to what I spent the last two years building. But you think it's all talk shows and tour buses? I've got this whole kingdom on my shoulders-"

"Oh you've got the whole kingdom on your shoulders do you?" she cut him off. "You think you know pressure Seth? You just walk around with your title and bark orders at people. You don't care about the rest of the locker room, you just care about Seth Rollins. I am responsible for an entire revolution. I have a whole division of women counting on me to make sure we get treated with respect. To prove we can draw crowds, to get us matches, to get us paid. I have to make sure Emma gets to see her family, that Brie Bella's goat-faced babies are eating! That. That is pressure."

"You think you're the only one who-" he began, but was cut off.

"Enough! Both of you!" Mick Folley's music started playing as he came out, furious in the face. "I've heard enough of the two of you bickering."

Seth watched her as she looked down at the mat, tucking her hair behind her ear.

"Need I remind you two that we are in a war right now and this in-fighting is serving no one. Sasha, I understand your frustration, and I know you've been working hard to get the same respect around here as Seth does. But now is not the time. Survivor Series is 2 weeks away, and Shane has challenged Stephanie to a Champions vs. Champions mixed tag. That means the two of you are going to have to learn to get along."

"What?" Seth bellowed, "with her?"

"The Universal Champion and the Women's Champion, as in the two of you, will be taking on the World Champion AJ Styles and the Women's Champion Becky Lynch."

The crowd was going nuts, Sasha nodded her head slowly and confidently as Seth freaked out.

"And if you think you can't get it together, Seth, then you're more than welcome to vacate the Universal Championship."

He was fuming.

"But, if you go through with the match and you bring the win home to Raw, I'll figure out a way for the two of you to be able to figure out once and for all who's the best. Deal?"

"I'm in," Sasha said, smirking at him.

"Seth?"

"Fine."

"Good. Have a nice day."

XXX

She was already settled into his bus by the time he got in, he slipped her a key last week. A show of faith maybe, though an odd one. Texting Becky about their upcoming match, she curled onto his couch as he came in from the pouring rain.

"Alright I have the official word from Hunter about-" he looked at her and his mouth dropped. "Hi?"

She snickered "Hi. If you wanna get out of those, mine are already in the dryer, we can run it in a minute."

"That's my sweatshirt." It was all he seemed to be able to form into a coherent sentence.

"You sure about that?" she asked with a smirk. His _Redesign Rebuild Reclaim_ hoodie was too big for her small frame, reaching almost mid thigh on her folded bare legs.

He ran over her with his eyes, licking his lips. It made her stomach do a backflip but she smiled, clinging onto control.

"I will get another," he said, leaning down to kiss her. "Does this mean I'm out of the doghouse?"

"Well maybe not, after that crush comment."

"I saw your eyes, you loved it."

She kissed him again, "I'm happy, are you happy?"

"I am very, very happy."

With a devious look in his eye, he pulled on the zipper just a bit. It revealed the smooth skin of the top of her chest and he ate it up. "Why don't you go set up and I'll run the dryer."

She felt his eyes following her into the bedroom and she leaned back on his pillows, flipping through their queue. The dryer started whirling, and Seth returned in his tight boxer briefs and a smug smile on his face.

"Really?"

"You really thought I wouldn't strike back?" he smirked, climbing into bed next to her. "I always get the last word, Banks."

He grinned and flexed, showing off his powerful legs and torso. Her eyes followed the line of his wide chest, defined abs, and down to his waistband low on his hips.

"Boss," he whispered, "my eyes are up here."

She laughed and rolled her eyes at him. "What were you saying about the official word?"

"Right," he said sitting up a little, "Tag match next week as a practice round. They're thinking Paige or Bayley and Cesaro or Kevin, basically someone who's been after each of our titles. Steph's thinking about adding in a stipulation so if they win they get title shots."

"Force us to get along?"

"Exactly. Ha, as if we need any help on that front," he rolled over and wrapped an arm around her waist, nuzzling into her neck.

"I thought you liked playing that game," she teased.

"Watching you get hot and bothered out there is...fantastic." He pressed his lips to her neck and she giggled.

"Well you better keep it together during our matches."

"No promises," he linked a leg around hers and started kissing her neck.

She moaned as his hands wandered around the sweatshirt, feeling her through it. He unzipped it down to her stomach and snuggled against her, his scratchy beard rubbing on her. Laughing, she pulled him into a deep kiss, wrapping her legs around him. His tongue teased her some more before finishing the zipper off. She moved it down off her shoulders and he stopped her.

"Leave it. It's hot." He smirked at her and pulled his underwear down, kicking them off. Her eyes watched him carefully, biting her lip. "Oh you want it bad, don't you?"

"C'mere," she pulled him down, letting him push into her and releasing a moan and a sigh, arching her back as he started with a slow rhythm.

He looked down at her, eyes closed and a smile on her lips as her hips moved against him. It might've been the most beautiful thing he'd ever seen. There they were again, the words caught in his throat. _I love you._ He shook it off and pressed himself against her, kissing her temple. To distract himself he leaned in, whispering in her ear,

"Call me heavyweight Rollins tonight?"

"Not happening," she laughed, lacing her fingers in his hair.

"I'll do that thing you really like," he said through a groan.

"…maybe."

"Ha ha ha yes."

XXX

The next Monday, Raw was winding down, the main event would be on soon.

"You good for tonight?" Hunter asked Seth as he combed through his wet hair in the locker room.

"Yeah we have a plan. Give each other a hard time, act like jerks, and then start to show seeds of respect. We'll take it further at Survivor Series and that'll continue through Roadblock."

"You sure that's a good idea?"

"Uh yeah, it'll give me some redemption from the way I've treated her and it'll validate her crusade. The whole concept was that we're not so different from each other, remember?"

"Sure, it's great on paper. But do you really want people seeing how you look at her when you're not pretending to hate her guts?"

Seth rolled his eyes. "I can handle it."

"I'm giving you a hard time, sounds great. Just keep your eyes on the match, alright?"

"Yeah, yeah."

The crowd was booming when Sasha got to the ramp, the title on her shoulder and her hand on her hip. The music changed to Seth's, and the crowd popped again. He came out and smirked at her.

"You hear that Banks?" he shouted over the sound of the crowd, pressing a finger to his ear as they chanted his name.

She rolled her eyes and took off ahead of them where Bayley and Cesaro waited for them in the ring. Behind her she could hear him shouting but couldn't make out the words. She'd surely see it on Tumblr tomorrow morning.

On the apron, she tossed her jacket to the side and felt his hand high on her back.

"Stick to my strategy, Okay?" He said so that the cameras would pick it up, then dropped his voice lower and gritted his teeth so they wouldn't. "Glare at me."

She followed his lead, sending daggers through him before climbing under the rope. His hand caught her shoulder.

"I got this," he said with a smirk. She held the ropes open for him, keeping her gaze focused in on him as he got to the middle of the ring.

The bell rang, Cesaro and him circled around for a second before Cesaro made a move. He knocked down Seth and wrapped up his legs for the swing. Seth kicked his way out and scrambled back to Sasha, holding out his hand. She tagged in and rolled her eyes.

Bayely grinned at her as they locked up. They fell into their routine, they knew each other so well in the ring they barely had to call spots. He was shouting at her from the apron, giving her directives like they talked about earlier.

"C'mon baby!" he yelled as she got Bayley into a rest hold. She glared at him, it was something he said to any other tag partner, but she didn't appreciate the implications. Bayley giggled under her breath. "Get on her! Go!"

She pushed Bayley down with an aggressive move and stomped on her stomach.

"I got it!" she yelled back at him, walking towards the ring post.

"Get on her!"

"I said," She got in his face, though he had half a foot on her. "I got it."

His face was livid, and as she jumped up to the second rope, he gave her arm a hard tag. She looked down at him, eyes wide as the crowd booed when she hopped down to the apron. He just smiled to her and met Cesaro in the center of the ring again.

They went back and forth for a while, Sasha keeping her eyes glaring at him. The crowd started chanting his name again and she rolled her eyes, crossing her arms. Cesaro had gotten the upper hand for several spots, locking him into the Sharp Shooter. He riled in pain, slamming his fists into the mat as he crawled to a rope on the other side of the ring. Forcing a break he was able to knock Cesaro down for a moment, crawling back to her slowly.

Their eyes made contact and she extended her hand. Cesaro was stirring on the other side. He was so close, reaching up to her, and he nodded ever so slightly. She knew the cue, hoping down off the ring as Seth shouted at her.

"BANKS! GET BACK HERE!" It was too late, Cesaro had his feet wrapped up and he started swinging him.

Sasha jumped back up to the apron and counted along with the crowd. He hit the mat hard, but managed to kick Cesaro off of him and crawl back to Sasha, who accepted the tag this time. As Cesaro and Bayley traded places, Seth pulled himself up to his feet. She ducked under the ropes, and he caught her arm on the way out.

"Pull that shit again, Banks," he looked her dead in the eyes, it sent a chill down her spine. "Bayley will be the least of your problems."

She pulled her arm free and went back to the match. They were gaining momentum now, the crowd was on their feet. Bayley tried to hit the Bayley to Belly, but Sasha reversed it, wrapping Bayley up on the corner where Seth stood. He smiled, half impressed as she met his eye. But when she went for the knees to the stomach, Bayley managed to roll out of the way. She slipped out as Sasha crashed into the floor, recovering on the outside of the ring. Sasha crawled to the opposite side of the ring from Bayley, pulled herself up and looked at the crowd cheering her on. Seth held his breath as she ran and suicide dived through the ropes onto Bayley, landing awkwardly. Pain shot through her body, but she contorted herself so that it looked a lot worse than it really was, that was one of her specialties.

"Banks!" he shouted, scrambling towards her. "Sasha! Are you okay?"

She held her head and groaned, nodding. The ref stopped him from getting too close, but he pushed passed and looked in her eyes, searching for signs of a concussion.

"Are you sure?" his voice sounded genuinely concerned.

The spot wasn't supposed to be quite so devastating looking, it just ended up that way. Either he was a better actor than she gave him credit for, or he was shaken, not expecting her to land that way. She nodded,dragging herself back into the ring and holding out her hand for the tag. Bayley was too fast though, pulling her back into the center and going for a pin off Sasha's exhaustion. She kicked out the first time, and tried to reverse, but Bayley got a roll up for a count of three.

The bell rang and Cesaro rushed in to hug Bayley. She helped Sasha to her feet and gave her a quick hug. Backing up, disappointed, she watched Cesaro and Bayley exit victoriously before looking back at Seth.

His face was sour, but not angry, stroking his beard and hanging his head. She tried walked past him down the steps, and he put a hand on her shoulder.

"Are you alright?" he asked sternly, loudly, and in character.

"Fine." She shrugged it off aggressively and marched past him up the ramp.


	17. Chapter 17

The morning of Survivor Series, she woke up in a hotel bed to his alarm blaring. He grumbled turning it off. Grumbling, she burrowed her head into his chest.

"Must we?" she murmured.

"I really need a run today, baby." He pushed some hair to the side. "Think you got it all out of your system last night?"

"Yeah I don't think I was really in danger of trying to jump your bones during the match in the first place."

"Yeah, probably not. I just wanted the excuse to get you naked."

"Classy."

"Ha ha ha. Alright, c'mon, up up up."

"Nooo," she rolled over and held her pillow over her head. He chuckled and scooted out of bed, riffling through his suitcase for his gym clothes.

"Am I seeing you tonight?" he said, his voice raspy.

"In the ring," she said into the pillow.

"After the match," he rolled his eyes.

"Depends how you preform," she tilted her head and sent him a flirtatious smile.

"How I perform?" he climbed back into the bed and she giggled. "Have I ever," he straddled her over the covers, "ever," he leaned down and pressed his lips to her neck, "not performed for you?"

She reached up and pulled him down for a kiss. They parted and he kissed her again on the cheek, climbing off of her.

"Your room?"

"I'm sharing with Becky."

"She'll be going out, won't she?" he shrugged. "Tell her we're doing movie night."

"Yeah but you'll have to, you know," she motioned with her thumb for the door "get out."

"Hey, you know I enjoy waking up to you."

"But?"

"But I also enjoy," he smirked, "sneaking around with you."

"Okay, I'll tell her we're doing movie night."

"Finn texted me the other day."

"Yeah he's here tonight isn't he?"

"Front row. We talked about a couple moments in entrance. Becky's gonna go over and hug him, and then I'll, you know,"

"Be Seth Rollins?"

He shrugged his shoulders smugly, then changed his tone. "No concussion spots tonight, okay?"

She rolled her eyes, "stay in character tonight, okay?"

"That's not fair. And it worked out, the audience ate it up." He looked over at her, laying in one of his old Shield tshirts, her hair falling down her back. "Please? Just don't **try** to scare me."

"I guess I can do that."

XXX

"Are we doing the spot off the top rope?" he asked her outside of the locker room.

"Yeah, why not?" she leaned up against the concrete wall, sipping her coffee

"Are you sure it's not too dangerous?"

"Seth."

"Sasha," he mimicked.

"Stop it, we're doing it."

"Okay but-"

"Discussion over."

"Alright," he grumbled. It was bad enough her doing those spots, he really didn't want to help her make it more dangerous.

"Trouble in paradise, kids?" Dean's voice came behind him.

He turned and grinned, hugging his old friend. "Heyy, ha ha."

"Sasha, good to see you," he held his arm out for a half hug.

"Man I wish you were in this thing tonight," Seth said, patting Dean on his back.

"Yeah you're telling me. But, you know, I wanna see what you guys pull out. Especially Sasha here giving you some of your bullshit back."

She laughed and flipped her hair.

"Alright, enough of that."

"Whatever, I have to go get hair and makeup anyway. Good seeing you Dean, I'll see you at preshow Seth."

"See ya," he tried to say in nonchalantly, but couldn't help watching her walk away. Dean was smirking when he turned back. "What?"

"Nothing. You're just tripping over yourself, I haven't seen you like this in a long time brotha."

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Aw you are so full of shit man," he said with a knowing grin.

"Alright, who told you, Renee or Roman?"

"Roman knows?" Dean laughed, "you two are terrible at sneaking around."

"There was an…incident."

"Oh I have got to get me that story," he laughed and then gave Seth a half smile, "Don't blame Renee, okay? We've got this no secrets policy."

"You would," Seth snickered.

"Hey it works. But we're not talking about my relationship, we're talking about yours."

"I don't know if that's the right word for it."

"Please tell me you're not playing games?"

"Why?"

"Because you suck at them."

"Why does everyone say that?"

"Because you do! You get overly invested and then you freak. Either you get hurt or you hurt someone else."

He opened his mouth to respond, and then closed it.

"Yeah," Dean laughed, "you know I'm right. Don't fuck it up Seth, she's good for you."

"I know"

"Even if you suck at keeping her a secret."

"Yeah, yeah, just don't tell anyone else, okay?"

"Who am I going to tell? Roman knows, Renee knows, you know," he shrugged, counting on his fingers, "yeah that's about it."

XXX

"What is going on guys, I'm Renee Young, this is the Survivor Series Preshow Panel and we are joined now by two of the hottest wrestlers on the Raw brand, Sasha Banks and Seth Rollins."

"Thanks for having us Renee," Sasha smiled sweetly.

Seth glanced at her, "Yeah, thanks Renee, but between you and me, there's only one hottest wrestler here tonight."

"So I take it you guys still butting heads?"

"Yeah well, Rollins doesn't know any other way."

"I heard General Manager Mick Foley was trying to get you on the same page. He had you traveling together the past week?"

"I guess that's him putting us in our get along shirt," Seth rolled his eyes, "and might I add, the Boss has really awful taste in music."

"Oh please,"

"Well it seems that Mick Foley was unhappy with your teamwork last week," Renee interjected, "how do you feel about that?"

"Look," he sighed, "I think we **both** had trouble leaving our issues at the door,"

Sasha crossed her arms with a scoff.

"But," he looked over at her, "I'm man enough to admit that at the end of that match she was in a bad way and I was slow to the tag. And you both know the I take pride in the Raw brand, so we have to bring that win home tonight. There's no room for pettiness tonight."

"I agree," she nodded, "let's do it."

"Do you two think you might even end up as friends by the end of this?"

"Whoa, ha ha ha, I don't think so, Renee."

"Let's not get ahead of ourselves,"

"Alright, well folks, you heard it here first, Seth Rollins and Sasha Banks are prepared to take on AJ Styles and Becky Lynch. But first, we'll see Naomi take on the Queen of Hearts, Natalya, that's next."

"And…we're off." One of the producers called.

They all pulled off their headsets and stood up behind the desk, Sasha waved goodbye as she went off to change. Seth followed Renee, she handed him a bottle of water from the table.

"Thanks. Girl, you are gonna get me in trouble," he said in a low voice.

She chuckled, "Dean? Aw I'm sorry, but I couldn't keep it from him."

"I know, I know, no secrets."

"Is she upset? I can talk to her,"

"No, no, let's just, don't worry about it. She doesn't love people knowing about us, so it's better if she doesn't know about Dean."

"Oh, okay, are you sure that's a good idea?"

"No secrets works for you two, but trust me, Sasha doesn't want to know everything there is to know."

XXX

"Hey champ," she walked up behind him at the curtain. He glanced back and then did a double take. She grinned. "I thought we'd show a little unity."

His eyes looked her up and down, she'd had her signature ring gear made in black and red like his, and worked off his designs.

"Why does it look so much better on you?"

"Doesn't everything?" she said quietly with a wink.

Becky's music hit, on the monitors she showed off the blue belt and gave Finn a big hug at the barricade. AJ went next, and then Sasha made her way down, holding her belt up high. She flipped her hair as Seth came down, stopping at Finn and cackling. He was so good at being bad. He gave her a condescending smile as he held the ropes open for her to start off.

The bell rang and her and Becky locked up, they hadn't gotten a chance to do that since the brand split. She completed a few offensive spots, Seth still yelling directives at her. Becky hit her with a powerful forearm and a kick, knocking her down to the mat.

"C'mon Banks!" he shouted, reaching out his hand, "I'm right here baby,"

Why did he have to keep saying that? She kicked Becky off and crawled back to him. The crowd roared as him and AJ met each other blow for blow. He got AJ into a rest hold and Sasha stood up on the bottom rope.

"Get on him!" she shouted, "don't wait!"

He met her eyes with a grumpy look, and she shrugged with a devious smirk. Slamming AJ into the mat, he went for an early pin, but was kicked off. AJ managed a reversal and beat up on him for a while, Sasha continued to shout at him, and Seth played up his frustration. He managed to knock AJ over the top rope and crawled back to her. She raised an eye brow to the crowd, teasing screwing him over again, but she took the hot tag and came in strong on Becky.

They had one of their best bouts ever, taking each other to their limits with a near fall each. Seth alternated between cheering her on when she had control, to yelling what she was doing wrong when Becky was beating her down. She got Becky down with a vicious spot and backed up their corner. He leaned in and whispered in her ear, she nodded and smiled back at him, excited. She climbed up to the top rope, feeling his hands around her hips as he balanced on the bottom one. Becky staggered to her feet and Sasha took a deep breath as Seth helped to launch her into a frog splash. She winced as she made contact with Becky and they both crashed to the ground. Sasha went limp, faking a weak pin as Becky sprawled out.

Breathing heavily, she felt the ref's count 1, 2, 3. The bell rang and she rolled off of Becky's shoulders, with a look of shock on her face. In a moment, her music was playing and Seth was pulling her up, spinning her around and laughing.

"Good fucking work, Banks. Fantastic," he shouted over the sound of the crowd chanting for her.

Becky nodded towards them as she slipped out of the ring, AJ had already taken his belt and stormed off. The ref held up both their hands and she grinned up at him. Taking her title back she got up on the ropes, holding it up with pride. He met her the middle of the ring, holding up her hand and his title. Suddenly, he was pulling her into his arms, cheering still, and pressing his lips to the top of her head. She'd seen him do to other tag partners, but it sent a chill down her spine. He looked down at her and grinned, and all she wanted was to drag him back and feel them for real.

XXX

"Are you sure you don' wanna come out with me an' Finn?"

"Bex, seriously," Sasha laughed, "get out of here, go, enjoy the time you have with him."

"Okay, okay."

A knock came at the door, Becky fixed her hair in the mirror and answered it.

"It's for you," she said, disappointed, and Seth laughed.

"Good to see you too, Becky," he walked past her, handing a beer to Sasha and putting the rest in the mini fridge. "Good match, by the way, you sold that finish like a champ."

"Thanks, you too. What're you two watchin' ?"

"The classic, the original, Episode IV, A New Hope," He pulled the DVD from his drawstring bag.

"Fantastic," Sasha said, sipping on her beer as he sat down next to her on the bed, just far enough away.

"You two are such an old married couple," Becky laughed, "a nerdy old married couple."

He grinned at her as she laughed it off. Becky looked down at her phone.

"Oh. Finn's in the lobby, I guess I'll see you guys tonight."

The door closed behind her and he immediately draped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close. He pressed his lips to the top of her head again, and she hummed at the touch.

"Mmm."

"You were so incredible out there," he whispered as she curled up to him.

"You weren't so bad yourself," she cooed and placed a slow kiss on his cheek, and then his neck. He smirked, running his fingers through her hair and kissing her deeply.

"So sex then Star Wars or Star Wars then sex?"

She shot him a look and he nodded and pulled off his tshirt.

"Got it," he rolled onto her and started kissing her feverishly.

She let her hands wander, they worked hard and they'd earned it. A hand tangled in his hair, her legs tangled with his. Her other hand ran down his toned shoulders and back.

"You're handsy tonight, Banks."

"I know what I want, Rollins."

"Heavywe-"

"Stop," she giggled, "you're obsessed."

"With hearing you moan that? With giving it to you so good that you want to?" he shrugged, "worse obsessions out there."

"Hmm giving it to me so good huh?" she moaned as he started letting his hands wander too.

"Has that peaked your interest?" he slipped his hands under crop top and lacy bra, pinching her lightly as he said it.

She responded with a moan and tilted her hips up to him. His jeans were bulging already, it never took much, and Sasha took full advantage. He didn't like to be teased, or so he claimed, which made it her favorite thing to do to him. Before long their clothes were strewn across the bed, he was breathing heavily, and kissing her with a bit of force as she held onto his wrists.

"Saaasha," he groaned, rolling his hips against her.

"You're so easy."

"Maybe I'm easy, but you are almost insatiable. Almost."

"Ha, you think you're such a stud."

"I know what you like."

"Uh huh."

"Don't believe me? I'm wounded, Banks."

"Prove it."

"Alright, turn around."

His eyes were glimmering, and she bit her lip, a grin creeping onto her face. Obliging his request, she let go and turned over to her hands and knees. His eyes were on her, hungrily watching as she moved slowly. She felt as he moved into position behind her, holding onto her shoulders. He made his move and she let out a long moan, something about working with him in the ring had her waiting for this since their segment ended.

"You good?" he asked, running his fingers through her hair. She nodded, pushing back against him. "Good."

She gave into the feeling of his body, meeting his thrusts as he got rougher and faster. He was clearly enjoying himself too, holding nothing back as he ran his hands all over her. For a few minutes, it was incredible, the moans washing over her. She was so caught up in it, that it took her half a moment to realize the door had opened again.

"Oh!" Becky was standing, stunned, in the doorway, Finn behind her.

"Whoa," Seth freaked, collapsing down on her and pushing her onto her elbow in an ill-conceived effort to cover her.

"Bex!"

"Sorry!" she scrambled out, the door slamming behind her.

"Oh god."

"You okay?" he asked, she could feel all of the blood rushing to her face.

"Yeah…yeah I'll handle it tomorrow."

"Do you want to stop?"

"No, we don't have to."

"Okay…cause you know this is a... snug fit," he whispered with a thickness in his voice.

She flipped her hair back as she turned to roll her eyes at him. His smile was sweet and giddy, his cheeks red from what had just happened.

"Can you breathe okay?"

That made her laugh. "Yeah, go ahead."

XXX

She woke up in the morning to Becky's alarm and looked over as a mass of orange hair stirred in the other bed. A hand jet out and she fumbled with her phone, grumbling.

"Long night?" Sasha laughed, rolling out of her own bed.

"Ugghh I have gotten soft."

Sasha sat down on the edge of Becky's bed, wrapping herself in her sweatshirt.

"Bex… I am **so** sorry about last night."

"No, don't be," she pulled herself up. "I jus' needed my jacket, I didn' realize…"

"I know," she sighed, "that's on me… sorry you didn't get it."

Becky laughed, "that worked out okay, Finn leant me his."

"Hey that's something," Sasha laughed too.

"Yeah, somethin'. Y'know I thought you two were makin' googley eyes at each other since Mania, and I almost thought last night, but…I dunno I guess I figured you woulda told me."

"I…we hadn't told anyone."

"Anyone?"

"I told Bayley."

Becky scoffed, sounding half hurt, "Ha yeah o' course."

"She's my best-" she stopped in her tracks. "It's not important. It was just a one night thing at that point

"What is it now?"

"It's…it's more. But I, I'm not really sure what."

"Well it looked pretty uh passionate last night," she said with a cheeky wink.

Sasha blushed and laughed, "Oh, my god."

Becky laughed with her, "he good?"

"He's alright," she smiled smugly and Becky rolled her eyes. "Okay, he's pretty good."

"Looked like it."

"Oh my god, stop," she was giggling like a teenager.

"He was really giving it to you there," Becky tipped her head back, laughing hysterically.

Sasha wiped a tear from her eye, "oh boy. Seriously are we okay?"

"Yeah, yeah o' course. You're entitled to your secrets. But ya coulda told me, I wouldn't have judged."

"Okay," Sasha gave her a side hug, "tell Finn I'm sorry?"

"He said he already knew."

"Yeah well, sorry about the image."


	18. Chapter 18

On the apron of the ring, Seth looked up at a cheering crowd and grinned. He looked back at the locker room standing along stage, ducked under the rope, and fixed his well-tailored suit jacket. Mick and Stephanie stood in the middle, clapping as he took a mic and laughed.

"Ha ha ha, yes, yes, the Man, Seth Rollins, has brought home a shinning victory for all of you on team red. SmackDown didn't even know what hit them."

"Seth, that may be true," Stephanie interrupted, "but you didn't do it by yourself. So let's all welcome your tag partner, Sasha Banks!"

Her music hit and the crowd parted as she strutted through, smiling. The patterned dress swayed around her hips and the neckline plunged low, he pulled his eyes away, pretending to be disinterested. Mick held the ropes for her and handed her a microphone.

"Tsk tsk Rollins, you can't even be gracious for 24 hours, can you?"

"I said what I had to say to get you to play nice, Banks," he said with a scoff. "And then you and me both did what we had to do to win that match. What's the problem?"

"The problem is I got the pin!" She glanced back as most of the locker room cheered.

"You got the pin because of my strategy."

"I got the pin." She stepped closer to him, staring him down. "But you still wanna take all the glory, come down here in your little suit-

"Little suit?"

"and brag about how you saved the day."

"I did save the day, and all of these people should be grateful to **me**."

"Guys, guys!" Mick shouted. "I was hoping working together would inspire some camaraderie between you two and you'd put this squabble behind you."

"Nope," said Sasha, flipping her hair to one side.

"Yeah not a chance."

"Fine then, I said I'd find a way to take care of it. Sasha, you're right, you did get the pin last night, so I think it's only fair you get something you've been working for."

"What are you saying, Foley?" Seth asked.

"4 weeks, Pittsburgh, Roadblock." Stephanie explained, "A co-main event."

Sasha's eyes widened and she looked back at the stage with a wide smile.

"You two can find out for yourselves who's the better champion," said Mick.

"It's about match of the night, maybe even match of the year. We'll let the WWE Universe tell us who they think proved they're the better champ. Winner is guaranteed the main event of the first Raw exclusive pay per view of 2017."

Seth pursed his lips then nodded, "You're on, Boss."

She grinned and held out her hand. They shook on it, and a smile crept onto his face thinking about how normally they'd kiss on a bet like this.

"That is, however, provided both of you walk out of Roadblock as champion," Mick said, "which brings us to our next point of business. Two weeks ago I challenged the two of you to prove to me you could work together. You failed that task."

Sasha crossed her arms and flipped her hair again.

"Which means Bayley and Cesaro, come forward."

From the crowd of wrestlers, Bayley and Cesaro stepped up to the top of the ramp, both smiling.

"At Roadblock, Bayley will be contending for the Women's Championship and Cesaro for the Universal Championship. They earned that when they beat the two of you. They've given you some of your hardest fought battles and I think they'll make sure you don't rest on your laurels after this win."

"Um excuse me Foley," Kevin's voice interrupted, he pushed through to the front of the crowd, mic in hand, "but I think you're forgetting something."

"Get out of here Kevin," Seth growled, "I beat you."

"That may be true, Seth, but you see, I'm no idiot. Did you read the contract you signed before Hell in a Cell? No? I didn't think so. I had my agent make sure that there was a rematch clause in there not just for you, but for me too."

"What?" Cesaro was looking back and forth, "What is this?"

"So obviously, I should be the one fighting Seth at Roadblock."

"Alright, listen. Seth calm down," Stephanie glared at him. "This is what's going to happen. Kevin you're right, you are owed a rematch, but Cesaro won the tag match that offered a championship opportunity. That's not going anywhere. You can, however, earn yourself a spot in that match by defeating Cesaro in a one on one tonight."

Seth cackled, nodding his head.

"And that match is right now!"

The crowd cheered and the screen showed they had cut to commercial. Cesaro and Kevin made their way down the ramp as the others cleared the ring. Seth held the ropes for Sasha as she ducked under, shooting him a look.

"Calm down, you look like you're about to fall in those shoes. I'm being a gentleman."

"Oh, a gentleman are you?" she said with a laugh as she walked down the steps and followed him up to the commentary desk.

He pretended to be confused when she sat down next to him, slinging his belt over his shoulder and sending her a dirty look. She smiled, parting her hair and flipping it in front of her shoulders. Watching her twirl her hair out of the corner of his eye, that smile crept back onto his face. A voice over the headset told them they were back on air.

"Welcome back to Monday Night Raw where Kevin Owens and Cesaro are about to clash. We're joined here by Universal Champion Seth Rollins and uh, also by Women's Champion Sasha Banks."

"Hello Michael," she said in that sweet singsong voice.

"I don't mean to sound rude Sasha, we know why Seth is invested in this match, but why are you?" asked Cole.

"Oh I'm just here to cause trouble," she said with a little smirk.

"She can't seem to stay away from me," Seth offered, his voice smooth. He raised an eyebrow at her.

"Can I ask you two something?" Corey asked as Kevin and Cesaro started fighting in the ring.

"I'm an open book, Graves."

"What's up between you? And I'm only asking because some people have pointed out you seemed very in synch last night."

"Ha, you can't be serious Corey," Seth scoffed.

"I'm just saying, you worked together, you celebrated together, what was with the kiss Seth?"

"Alright, alright, I'll admit I got a little... caught up in the moment, but trust me, it wasn't like that. I treated Banks here like any other partner, and I've kissed Dean Ambrose's forehead more times than I care to admit."

"Okay, so what's this we've been seeing on social media about #Sesha?"

Sasha laughed, blushing, "you know how the Internet goes, Corey."

"Seriously, Graves, you don't pay attention to that couple name nonsense do you? This time last year it was me and Nikki Bella they were so excited about. I gotta say, I miss those days, she's a beautiful woman."

Sasha shot him a side eye glare and he smirked at her, but felt a little bad about that comment.

"So there's nothing going on between you?"

"My standards are a little higher than that," Seth said smugly.

"Corey," she leaned in over Seth, like she was sharing a secret, "I think **my** standards are higher than **that**.

Her and Corey laughed, glancing up at him. He shot her a grumpy look and tried not let his eyes linger on the neckline of her strappy dress.

"Shut up, both of you shut up!"

She flipped her hair, smirking at him. "You started it."

"I am just trying to watch this match and find out who I'm taking on to kick your ass at Roadblock. You mind?"

"Sure." She leaned back, her eyes still on him as he focused on the ring.

"Sasha, how do you feel about fighting Bayley at Roadblock?" asked Byron.

"I'm excited about it! Bayley is one of the toughest competitors I've ever faced, we always put on 5 star matches, and unlike Rollins, I'm not afraid of a challenge."

"Ha."

"What?" she turned and narrowed her eyes.

"Are you guys really buying this? Oh she acts innocent, but trust me, it's just that. An act."

"I think you just know that Bayley and I can wrestle circles around you and any of your boys."

"You're real full of yourself, aren't ya Banks?"

"If I recall correctly, you were front row when we tore the house down at Brooklyn."

"Yeah…I was."

"And that picture of you wiping a tear from your eye at the end there, it is all over."

He stared her down, "keep talking, Banks, we'll see who's crying at the end of Roadblock."

He remembered that night, it was long before they really became friends. It wasn't like he was pining over this pretty NXT call up, but he'd started paying attention to her career early. She was impressive from start to finish, it was one of those matches that reminded him why he loved wrestling as a fan. It was fair to say he was a fan of hers from the first time he saw her.

Suddenly the bell was ringing, Kevin had pinned Cesaro in the ring. He blinked out of his fantasy and clapped his hands slowly.

"A fantastic match! We'll be seeing more of Kevin Owens as Roadblock. Seth, what's your reaction?"

"I can take both of them," he looked over at her, "and her, all at once. Bank on **that**."

XXX

They'd had a successful live event the following Sunday just a town over from Monday's Raw. It would be a short drive, and so the hotel was bustling with almost all the superstars staying the night. In the hotel bar he was sitting on the other side of the crowded booth, every now and then she could feel his eyes on her. He accepted a whiskey shot from Big E and knocked it back in a swoop. The boys were chatting about some Up Up Down Down plans, but Seth wasn't saying anything. Charlotte returned with a round of drinks and handed it to Bayley and Sasha.

"To co-main eventing!" Bayley said, holding up her glass.

"I'll drink to that!" Sasha clinked her glass to Bayley's and tipped it back.

"Hey speaking of main eventing," Kevin said, nudging Seth, "we need to figure out something for tomorrow's segment."

"Yeah yeah, we will."

"Seriously dude, don't check out on us."

"There's five of us in this program, it'll be…tricky." Cesaro nodded.

"We'll handle it, maybe later?" Seth said but he didn't seem to be really paying attention. He spun the empty shot glass and sighed. "Listen guys, I think I'm calling it a night. Enjoy yourselves."

No one protested, Seth tended to skip out. He waved goodnight and Kevin said to Cesaro how he didn't want to fall through the cracks. Sami said something about how it would all be fine, but Sasha wasn't focused on it. Her phone buzzed and she slid it under the table to check the message.

 _712\. Can you get away?_

She smiled to herself and texted Seth back.

 _I'll find a way._

"Sash?" Xavier called from across the booth, "what's up?"

"Hmm?"

"You're blushing."

"I think there might be a boy," Charlotte laughed. "You dressed up tonight."

Sasha looked down at the flowy black shift dress. Yeah, she'd picked it out with him in mind.

"You got a groupie in toe?" Xavier asked.

"I just might tonight," she smiled smugly. Hiding in plain sight, that was one strategy. She slipped out of the booth. "I'll see you guys tomorrow."

"Wait wait, I just realized something" Kofi stopped her, she froze "I see what's happening here."

"What?"

"Booty calls." He burst out laughing and the rest of the table followed suit.

"Goodnight."

XXX

"We really have to stop meeting this way," he said, running his hands through her hair as she leaned her head against his bare chest.

"Oh are you growing weary of this?" she teased.

"Not a chance."

She laughed and sat up, her hair draping over her shoulder. "Okay well, I need a shower,"

Sasha leaned down and kissed him lightly before sliding off and walking to the bathroom. He followed her with his eyes, her purple hair swaying along her back. Sighing contently, he pulled back on a pair of gym shorts, wrapped his hair into a low bun and settled in with his notebook. He smiled, work through some of the details of the end of their program. How was it that it was almost over? It seemed impossible that in a month they'd be going their separate ways. No more sneaky on-camera flirting as foreplay, he'd miss that. But they started this whole thing after it was first cancelled, so maybe things would stay as heated anyway.

A knock came at the door, he furrowed his brow as he opened it.

"Hey, we really need to work this out," Kevin said, inviting himself and Cesaro in.

"I know, I know, I'm sorry, but he can't be stopped," Cesaro said apologetically. "He's a little-"

"I am not drunk! I just seem to be the only one who's concerned about getting tomorrow right. You love storylines, man, what's the plan?"

"Uh guys," he started

"We keep going over it and everything seems too obvious," said Cesario.

"This is really not a good-"

Kevin cut him off, "this is supposed to feel bigger than that."

"GUYS."

They both turned and looked at him

"I've got a girl in here, you need to go."

"Is that so?" Kevin smiled. "Who is it?"

"Leave. Now."

He tried pushing the two of them to the door, but it was too late. The water had stopped, and the door was opening.

"What time do you wanna-" she froze, standing in a short, white hotel robe, her eyes wide. "Uh,"

Cesaro and Kevin looked at each other.

"Hello Sasha," Cesaro said, smiling. "You look, lovely tonight."

Kevin snapped his fingers, "wait there it is. Cesaro's a boy scout."

"Really, Kev?"

"You're screwing Banks, whatever, can we talk about the segment now?"

"And it looks like," Cesaro added, "Kevin doesn't have time for any of this."

"See **now** we're making progress."

Sasha was frozen, her hands pulling the rope tighter shut. Seth sighed, collecting her clothes from the floor where he'd thrown them.

"Why don't you," he handed them to her gently, "get dressed, and then the 4 of us can talk about it?"

She looked at him unsure at first, but nodded and turned back into the bathroom.

"So that's happening?" Cesaro asked.

"Yeah it's…it's been happening."

"Good for you. I honestly didn't think you'd ever work up the courage."

"Wait," Kevin interrupted, "you knew about this?"

"We talked a lot when we were both on the shelf, Rollins was developing one hell of a crush."

"What's that?" Sasha was in the doorway again.

Seth blushed, "that's not-"

"Oh don't lie to the girl," Cesaro grinned, "you couldn't stop talking about her."

"Can we get back to business?" Kevin asked impatiently.

"Yes!" Seth said, too eagerly. "Let's talk about anything else."


	19. Chapter 19

Early the next morning, Seth turned his alarm off and curled into the crook of her neck.

"Mmm morning," he yawned. She stirred but didn't turn back towards him. He kissed her cheek and looked down at her. "Are you mad about last night?"

She didn't respond.

"Okay so you're mad about last night."

"You think?"

"Aw she speaks!"

"Seth," she turned over, "everyone knows. Everyone."

"I don't see how that's on me."

"I'm not saying- ugh, whatever," she slipped out of bed, brushing her hair in the bathroom mirror.

He leaned against the doorway, watching the hem of his tshirt flirt with her upper thigh.

"Do you think we should come clean?"

She sighed, shaking her head "I don't know."

"I'll do whatever you want, I'd do anything you asked. You know that right?"

She ripped through a knot in her hair. "I don't have an answer for you." She pushed passed him back to the bedroom. He grabbed her arm on the way out.

"Hey. I know I'm not exactly an authority on this, but you really need to start talking to me, Sash."

"Let go of me, Seth."

He did, his eyes big and his brow furrowed in a frown. If he said it aloud, would she understand, would even she believe him?

XXX

The three of them sat in chairs in the middle of the ring, Corey Graves moderating a forum between them. Corey was asking Kevin a question about his run as NXT Champion, but Seth wasn't really listening, his mind was on how Sasha would be coming out in a minute. He hadn't seen her all day.

"Seth?" asked Corey.

"Sorry, every time Kevin Owens speaks I just sort of go into a deep slumber. What was the question?"

"You don't have a champion's advantage in this match, so what's your strategy?"

"Ha. Champion's advantage. I don't need a champion's advantage."

"You alright there Seth?" Kevin leaned over, "you seem a little distracted."

"Thanks for your concern, Kevin, but I'm fine."

"This must be quite a lot to focus on," Cesaro interjected, "perhaps you're overwhelmed."

"I'm not overwhelmed, in case you forgot, I'm the Man around here, I'm used to doing twice the work of the two of you."

"Oh twice the work huh? Does twice the work involve dancing around with Sasha Banks when you're supposed to be a fighting champion?"

"I'm fighting both of you and Roadblock, how am I not a fighting champion Kevin?"

"Oh are you? Because all you've been talking about is Sasha Banks."

"You think I enjoy this? Sasha is a pest, she's trying to ride my coattails to some delusional sense of revolution. I'm protecting my empire, is what I'm doing, I get no satisfaction out of it."

"Oh yes," Cesaro said with a smirk, "you know there's nothing Seth Rollins hates more than a beautiful woman paying attention to him."

Kevin and him laughed together, and the crowd roared with laughter.

"Hey! Shut up! Everyone shut up! Sasha Banks is nothing more than a thorn in my side and she is not in this."

"Oh she's in this," Kevin said, "you brought her into this. She bruised your ego and you just can't resist showing her up, so you're using the two of us to do it."

"Sasha Banks is not-"

Her music hit and he put down his mic, glaring as she walked down the ramp in a tight green dress. He kept his gaze measured, but it was getting harder every time, and he loved that dress.

"Hold on boys, no one talks about the Boss like that."

He watched as she ducked under the ropes, her purple hair swaying.

"Hello Sasha, you're looking lovely tonight," Cesaro said and Seth didn't have to fake a dirty look towards him this time.

"Always the gentleman, Cesaro. Rollins, Owens, is there something you'd like to say?"

He stepped towards her, "Banks, this doesn't concern you. Why don't you run home to Bayley and your little friendly competition?"

"Oh I think this concerns me plenty."

"Guys!" Kevin stood up and pushed Seth back from her. "No one has time for this!"

"Hmmpf."

"Sasha, what I think my opponents here are trying to say," Cesaro pulled her back, "is that Seth might be concerned with beating you, but Kevin and I are only worried about one thing."

"And that's the Universal Championship, so the two of you can take your little game and get out of my opportunity."

She looked from Kevin to Seth, and back and Cesaro.

"You really still think this a game? Maybe that's the difference between you and Rollins, he knows a war when he sees one. At Roadblock, I'm coming for blood, and trust me, you'll be taking me seriously when I finish it."

XXX

Seth walked along the quiet streets of his hometown, his Yorkie Kevin running along in front of him. He started barking when they got to #23, a stout little home he passed every time he went for a run.

"C'mon boy, I know better." Seth tugged lightly on the leash but Kevin couldn't be moved. He sighed, "well just a hello."

He bit his lip ringing the doorbell, he'd been on a roller coaster of emotions since the incident with Kevin and Cesaro. Things with him and Sasha were unspokenly weird, and it was only made worse by a lunch with his brother earlier that day. His heart was beating out of his chest as Jenna opened the door.

"Hey, we were passing by and this little guy wanted to say hi."

She smiled and picked Kevin up, "aww I miss you too," she ruffled his furr, "c'mon, it's cold out here,"

He followed her into the little house, she undid Kevin's leash and plopped him on her lap on a couch that used to sit in his living room. She pet him, the dog that used to be their dog, not his dog, and he wagged his tail in delight. Seth sat on the other side of the couch, watching the familiar scene as a knot grew in his stomach.

"You still living here alone?" he asked after a moment.

She laughed, "Yeah, for the meantime. I thought that's what you were doing here, Seth."

"I had lunch with Brandon today," he admitted.

"I figured he'd tell you," she nodded. "Did he fill you up with beer before or after?"

"Both."

"Ha, yeah I could tell."

"You should've told me."

"Why would I tell you that?"

"I don't know, courtesy?"

"Courtesy!" She laughed out loud. "That's rich."

"Who is he?"

"An old friend from college. We reconnected at a homecoming game."

"I take it that's why you gave me the ring back?"

"You want a cup of coffee? I'm guessing I'm not getting rid of you anytime soon."

"Yes."

She got up and walked to the kitchen, Kevin and a slightly stumbling Seth both on her toes.

"So when you said 'start dating', you meant 'already dating'?"

"That part wasn't important," she said over her shoulder, "I meant what I said, I'm ready to put this behind me. We can be friends."

"Friends? Friends. You and me, friends?" he laughed bitterly, "We have never been just friends, Jenna, and you know it."

"Oh grow up, Seth. Do I have to remind you that we'd be married right now if it weren't for you?"

"And instead you're marrying some jackass from Missouri, is that it?"

"Hey you don't-"

She was cut short, surprised to find him standing right behind her, towering over her.

"Don't do this. Please," his voice was desperate, he hated the sound of it.

Jenna just shook her head.

"I can't stand the thought of you with someone else."

"Yeah well, now you know how I felt," she said in a quiet, sad voice.

"Jen, baby, please,"

"Don't call me baby. You forfeited that the day you said yes to that woman." Tears were forming in her eyes, and he wiped one from underneath. "You and me are in the past."

"I miss you." His hands were on her hips, but she didn't protest.

"And I miss you, but that doesn't mean-"

"Why not?

"Because life doesn't work that way Seth! I made a commitment and I intent to actually get married this time. Is there really no one in your life who makes you want to love again?"

That gave him pause. His mind raced, thinking about all the times lately he'd looked at Sasha and almost told her. He thought about the way she laughed constantly with him, the way her eyes sparkled, the feeling of her legs running up and down over his. And he thought about her stoic stare, her shaking her head instead of answering his question, the realization that she was never going to love him, that wasn't what this was.

"There's no one I wouldn't give up for you."

She bit her lip, looking up at him, "I'm not throwing away my life for you this time."

"It's not, it's not throwing it all away. We'll make our own, we'll rebuild what we had. Jenna, let's just do it, let's just go. Let's run away."

"Run away?" she laughed, half in tears. "You can't be-"

"I am. It's what you always loved about me, isn't it? My spontaneity? You used to say it was romantic."

"Used to."

"Run away with me. Pack a bag, we'll get a flight to Vegas. We'll elope, and it'll be real corny but we won't care because we'll be together. We'll be right where we're meant to be."

"Elope? You're crazy."

"I know," he laughed, giddily, "but if you wanna be a wife, I'll make you my wife. Let's just go for it, please, Jenna, please,"

Their lips were together suddenly. He wasn't sure if she'd kissed him or he kissed her, but her arms were around his neck and her mouth was pressed against his. They were just like he remembered but kissing her didn't fill him up with warmth this time. It was passionate, but desperate. She pulled away first, sobbing fully now, and shook her head.

"I **can't** do this, Seth. I won't."

He pressed his temple to hers before backing away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have."

"It's okay."

"This never happened, yeah?"

"Thank you."

"Friends?"

She nodded and he scooped up Kevin from the floor.

"Take care, Jen."

XXX

He'd sobered up by dinnertime, a frozen meal for one cooking in the microwave. Kevin barked as Seth leaned his head against the cabinet, it was throbbing.

"Don't start with me," he said to the tiny dog, "this is all your fault."

What was he thinking?

The microwave beeped and he took his plate to the couch, ESPN playing on the TV. He spent a lot of nights like this when they'd first broken up. It wasn't that he didn't know how to cook for himself, just that he was so drained of the motivation to do much of anything outside of work.

He didn't really think she'd drop her new fiancé for him, did he? Vegas? How would either of them have explained that to their families? To Sasha? He shook his head. It was dumb, but it was over, she didn't have to know about it.

Like she was reading his mind, his phone started to buzz. A photo they'd taken together at Hall of Fame popped up, Sasha with her hair pulled gracefully back and in an evening gown, making a funny face at him. He almost considered letting the call go, but he answered it anyway.

"Hi, Banks."

"Hey, uh, Seth look, I know I overreacted. I'm sorry, you're right, it's not your fault we can't keep this a secret. Hunter said it would come out sooner or later. I shouldn't have taken it out on you."

"Oh, Sash, I'm sorry too."

"For what?"

He gulped. "For uh, for upsetting you. That's never been my intention, ever."

"I know. Do you wanna come clean?"

"What?"

"Go public. You asked if I wanted to the other day. Do you?"

"I…I don't know, Sash. Let me think about it, okay?"

"Okay. How're you?"

"Good, good. "

"You sound upset?"

"No, I just…I miss you." Lying to her tasted terrible.

"I miss you too," she laughed. "Hey we're in Des Moines week after next, right?"

"Yeah..." a smile crept onto his face, "would you like to stay at my place?"

"I mean, I'm curious what it's like."

He laughed leaning back on the couch, "alright, can you come for the weekend?"

"Should be able to get in Saturday night after the live show in Buffalo."

"Well in that case, I plan on kicking your ass in 2k."

"Oh is that so?"

"You won't even know what hit ya."

"Wanna bet?"

"Ha ha, what do I get this time?" His smile was wide.

"We'll see."

"No, no way I'm not agreeing to anything unless you tell me what it is."

She giggled and it made the hairs on his arm stand up.

"How about a little strip game?" he asked, smirking.

"Rollins you're so unimaginative, you see me naked all the time."

"Yeah but it's so much better when I get to see you naked because you lost."

"Alright, settle down."

"We on?"

"Yeah we're on. Hey um, again, I'm really sorry about how I acted."

"Don't be, baby, don't be sorry."

"As long as we're okay."

"We are, I'll see you Friday."

"Friday. Goodnight, Rollins."

"Goodnight, Banks."


	20. Chapter 20

A/N: Mentioned it in my Sethanie one shot but I have a poll up on my profile about how you guys prefer to get updates. Fill it out if to let me know how you tend to read them. Also approaching (maybe a few chapters out?) the end of this story (finally! It was a longwinded idea) but I have an idea for a sequel, if you guys are interested.

XXX

Sasha stood in the women's locker room watching a tag match on the monitor while she stretched. She'd be fighting Dana Brooke next.

"You look excited," Bayley commented, undoing her hair in the mirror.

Sasha beamed, "I got a little surprise for him tonight."

"Ew?"

"Dude! Not like that. Just an in-ring thing."

"If you say so. Things are okay then? Between you two?" Bayley asked as she brushed through her hair.

"Yeah, I mean," she shrugged, "so a couple people know about us,"

"A lot of people,"

"Okay a lot of people know about us. But so what? Even if we did go public, what would we say? It's not like we're really dating."

"You're not?"

"No."

"Sister, you're basically dating him."

"Okay but, it's not like that."

"Are you ever gonna tell him you're in love with him?"

"Dude!"

"Dude," Bayley mimicked, "don't play that. You wear your heart on your sleeve, why are you even denying it?"

"Because I can't fall in love with him," she said sharply, "not if he's not going to love me back."

"What makes you say that?"

"Bay, it's Seth Rollins."

"I think you're selling him short." She sat down on the bench next to where Sasha was stretching.

"You don't know him like I do. He doesn't want to fall in love with me."

"Just…just try it." Bayley sent her a sympathetic look and the bell was ringing on the monitor.

"I gotta go,"

"Sash,"

"Drop it, Bayley."

XXX

He was already on commentary when she walked out. She glanced over her shoulder, sending him a smirk as his eyes followed her. The plan was to hype up their respective matches by having him talk smack during her fight, and letting her show off. She got up on the rope closest to the commentary desk, holding up her title and staring right at him. He clapped sarcastically, and winked at her. Sasha gulped, in story he was trying to throw her off her game a little, and in reality, well, he was probably trying to throw her off her game a little. They'd see who had the upper hand after tonight.

The bell rang and she came at Dana with a punch to the face, knocking her straight onto her back. Sasha sent a smirk back towards Seth, who was saying something into the headset. She continued to dominate Dana, who barely got any reversals in. Normally they wouldn't outright squash another competitor on such a small roster, but the idea was Sasha was on another level that night. She came at her with aggressive move after aggressive move, showing off for him.

A big kick sent Dana over the top rope and Sasha looked back at him again. He wasn't smirking, she had a feeling he knew what she was about to do, and he hated these spots. She ran at the opposite rope, and took a Suicide Dive through the middle rope. Hitting Dana, they both collapsed to the harsh metal of the ramp. Sasha rolled over in pain, she opened her eyes and saw Seth standing up at the commentary desk, his eyes wide. Why could he never stay in character when she performed a high-risk move? She got to her feet, dusting herself off, and pulled Dana to her feet as well, shoving her back to the ring. The match went on for a while, with her dominating Dana and sending taunts his way. He was back into the character, keeping his glare sharp on her. After several brutal minutes, she got Dana in a pin and whispered.

"Finish, let's go."

Dana kicked out and Sasha ran her hands through her hair frustrated. She looked back and Seth, he was smirking, not knowing what was about to come. Getting to her feet, she fixed her hair, and hopped up to the middle rope. Carefully, she moved up to the top, balancing and trying to control her breath. She met his eye, returning his wink from earlier, and he smiled lightly. With that, she jumped into a twist, her knees bent. She flipped through the air and landed on Dana for a pin, exhaling as the Phoenix Splash was over. The crowd was on their feet as the ref counted to three. She pushed herself off of Dana and took her title from the ref. Meeting Seth's eye again, he was stunned, standing at the desk, speechless. She laughed and walked past him with a smug look on her face, his eyes followed her. At the top of the ramp she waited by the camera, turned back and said,

"Your move, champ."

XXX

The shower felt fantastic after a match like that. It was nothing compared to what her Bayley would do at Roadblock, but it was no soft match. Sasha stepped out and squeezed the water out of her hair, wrapping it up to a tight bun. As she slipped back into her street clothes, a buzz came from her bag and she pulled out her phone.

 _Can you meet me in 5?_

She laughed, of course. Who else could it have been?

Five minutes later she was knocking on the door of his tour bus, and he quickly pulled her in.

"Seth, what's wrong?" she asked, trying not to smile. She knew damn well he didn't call her in because he was upset about something.

His lips were on hers instantaneously, pushing her against the cabinets of the kitchen and then lifting her onto the countertop. She pushed back against him, wrapping her legs around him.

"You should've told me you were gonna do that," he said pulling apart from her.

"It wasn't as much fun that way."

"I could've helped taught you it."

"I think I did alright," she said smugly.

"I'll say," his voice was thick. "It was good, I am-"

She giggled, "very turned on?"

"Impressed. Yeah, yeah okay, I'm very turned on too," he kissed her again and her fingers found the buttons of his shirt.

"I like this suit," she said smirking against his lips.

"Get me out of it in the next five seconds and I will give you whatever you want, baby."

She paused. "Seth?"

"What?" he looked down at her with a nervous smile.

"What I want….is a real date." She spit the words out, unsure what he'd say.

"Oh,"

"I just. I think I need to start standing up for what I want."

"Yeah, of course. Anything you ever want," he kissed her lightly on the lips, "you know that."

"Well that's what I want." She shifted uncomfortably on the counter.

"You're booked for the Wizard World in Chicago on Wednesday?"

She nodded.

"Okay, I'll pick you up for dinner around 8?"

"Uh…yeah…okay?"

"What's that look for, Banks?"

"I just…"

"Didn't think it'd be this easy? Really?" He moved a piece of hair from her face. "This is all I want, baby."

"It's not just about sex?" she teased.

"No, but," he smirked, leaning into her ear. "If you're gonna leave me hanging tonight, you better dress hot as hell on Wednesday"

She giggled, sliding off of the counter and moving towards the door, his eyes on her.

"I have something in mind."

XXX

He took a deep breath, fixing his tie in the mirror of the hotel. It was the same suit he'd worn on Monday, hopefully she'd like it as much tonight. Hopefully she'd like **him** as much tonight. He wasn't sure why he was so nervous, they'd be dating for months in everything but name. But what if she walked out of tonight thinking he wasn't boyfriend material? After all, he wasn't, not really, and he knew it. He almost had a drive-thu wedding with another woman a week ago.

Her room was a few floors bellow his, and he tried to swallow the nervous energy as he knocked on her door. It opened and he felt his throat drop into his stomach.

"I think you took my request a little literally."

"Was this not what you were hoping for?" she grinned, flipping big purple waves to one side. They fell down onto a tight lace spaghetti strap dress, cutting low across her cleavage.

He looked her up and down, "you are perfect, Sash. Perfect."

She giggled, "let me get my bag."

Watching her walk over to the bed in her metallic heels, he regained his composure enough to lob the ball back to her court. "That thing painted on, Banks?"

"You can find out later, if you can behave during dinner."

"Then I guess I'll have to behave myself."

He drove them to the restaurant, a trendy joint tucked away in the city. The lighting was low and they settled into cushy chairs adjacent to each other around a small round table, Sasha looking around, speechless.

"This is... romantic."

"What were you expecting? Burgers and fries?"

"Maybe."

"Nah," he chuckled, "I know how to treat a lady."

"Clearly," she smiled and he reached under the table and squeezed her knee.

He ordered a bottle of wine and an appetizer as she looked through the menu.

"This place is-"

"Sash, I own a tour bus. It's alright."

"Okay," she blushed, "I'm just not used to it."

"Well don't get used to it," he laughed, "this is a first date, impress a girl kind of place."

"First?"

"Or…5 month anniversary I guess? Either way, it's take out and Arby's for you from now on."

"I can go for that," she gave him a shy smile as their wine came and they ordered dinner. "Cheers."

He tapped his glass to hers and dug into the tiny puffs of some gourmet concoction. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw her leaning in on her elbows. It pushed the lace of her neckline down a bit, but he pretended not to notice. She took his hand in hers, and he pressed it to his lips.

"Tell me something I don't know about you," she said.

"Oh um," _not that._ "I didn't know I was supposed to prepare a fun fact."

"C'mon, anything."

"Okay, well, this is embarrassing, but-"

"Perrrfect." She grinned, flashing that big smile of hers.

"My mom had me in gymnastics until I was like, 10."

"Really?" she laughed. "That explains the high flying."

"Yeah I realized around then that it wasn't very cool and started playing football instead. But yeah, learned how to do a backflip first."

"Pick up a lot of chicks with football?"

"No, I was just, god awful at it," he laughed, "But it all lead me to training for wrestling so."

"Worked out."

"Yeah," he took another bite, "what about you?"

"Hmm."

"Better be something juicy after that."

"Juicy?" she laughed.

"Who was your first kiss?"

She blushed, "a guy at the gym I trained at, his name was Johnny. I was 17."

"17?"

"Seth, I left school in the 7th grade, there weren't a lot of football game make outs in my life."

"Right, yeah," he smiled. She was something else.

"What about yours?"

"Ha, uh, football game make out."

"Of course."

"It was uh…"

"What?"

"Well, it was my freshman year of high school and uh, it was Jenna."

"Jenna? As in-"

"Yep. That's the one. I had had a crush on her in middle school, finally worked up the courage over the summer and…yeah. But she started dating one of the much more talented football players who made it onto the team and," he shrugged.

"I didn't know you guys went so far back."

"I mean, we didn't start dating until she came back from college in Missouri, but I guess it all started back then."

"No wonder she made such an impression on your life."

"Yeah…" his stomach was in knots. "Can we talk about something else?"

"Oh, of course."

Their food arrived and they sat talking and eating, laughing over stories from each of their pasts. She didn't mention Jenna again, and he was grateful. After a few minutes the feeling of guilt dissipated. Instead, they talked a lot about their families, something they both placed so much importance on. He told her about him and his brother playing at wrestling when they were kids and she giggled at the image. With a chocolate lava cake between them, he looked at her, a bit of chocolate sauce on her lip, and smiled wide.

"You got a little something,"

"Oh," she stuck out her tongue and swiped it away, laughing. God he was in love.

"You got it. Hey, I was just thinking. Sunday night my parents always do a dinner with Brandon, and I go when I'm home for it."

"Uh huh."

"So, y'know, if you wanted to come, you could. If you wanted to."

"Oh, yeah okay."

"I can call you my friend, it doesn't have to be,"

She smiled shyly, "Sounds perfect."

"Good, good." He nodded at the waiter as he brought the check by, taking out his wallet without giving her a chance to protest. "So what're you doing after this?"

"Honestly?" she dropped her voice low, "I am just dying to get out of this dress."

XXX

"How DO I get you out of this damn thing?" he grumbled later, back in her room.

"The zipper's on the side, careful!"

"I am I am," he fumbled around on the side of her dress.

"I thought you liked it."

"Banks. I fucking loved it, but now it's in my way and it needs to go. Ah-" he slid it down and revealed the skin underneath. "Now we're talking."

She giggled as he pushed her back onto the bed, unbuttoning the top button of his shirt as her eyes locked on him.

"Hey! That's my job."

"I can tease too," he moved to the next button, watching her bite her lip.

"Get down here, Rollins."

"You're the boss," he let her unbuckle his pants and dropped them to the floor, climbing on top of her.

She giggled flirtatiously as he started kissing that spot on her neck that she just couldn't resist. How could he ever think for a moment that he ever wanted anything other than this? A voice inside his head, a wishful, naïve voice, said to tell her what he was thinking. _Open your mouth and just say it._ And then another voice, stronger and more confident, told him not to be a fool, and he listened. There was no need to get his heart broken tonight, not after the night they'd had together. He'd tell her another night, when there wasn't so much on the line. Maybe after their program was said and done. Tonight, he all he wanted was to enjoy every single curve of her body and every little laugh that filled his ears.


	21. Chapter 21

"So this is it," he said as he unlocked the door to his house in Davenport and let her in, "those are the stairs, that's the hall closet,"

She laughed at his idea of a home tour as he slipped her winter coat off of her shoulders and hung it up.

"You said you wanted to know what it was like,"

"Yeah, I did," she rolled her eyes, following him into the kitchen.

"Oh okay, here, this," he smiled at a guy sitting at his kitchen table, typing on a laptop, "is my brother, Brandon."

"Hey," the man, a little bit younger than Seth, with many of the same features, stood up and gave her a hug. "It's good to finally meet you, Sasha,"

"Finally?" she raised an eyebrow at Seth. She knew a lot about Brandon, but didn't think Brandon knew anything about her.

He shrugged, "I tell him everything."

"Not, not everything," Brandon said with a laugh. "Don't worry."

"But if he's here that means that someone is around here somewhere," Seth looked around and whistled. A tiny Yorkie with brown fur came running. "There he is!"

He scooped up the dog and brought her over to her. "This is Kevin."

"Oh I like this part," she giggled.

Seth smiled at his brother, "thanks for bringing him by for me."

"Yeah anytime," he said, slipping his laptop back into a backpack. "I guess I'll see you both tomorrow?"

"Uh, yeah," she smiled a little bit.

"Don't be nervous, they'll love you," he nudged her, "bye Seth."

"See ya."

The front door closed behind him, and Sasha curled up with Seth's puppy on the couch in the living room. He laughed, sitting down next to her.

"Somebody's in love," he grinned as Kevin rolled over to his back and she rubbed his belly.

"So that's your brother, huh?"

"That's him."

"He seems nice,"

"He's the best. He'll make sure you're taken care of tomorrow, he's good like that."

"Isn't that your job?"

"Oh is it?"

She laughed, and pushed him playfully. He turned on the TV and picked up one of the Xbox controllers, passing her the other.

"Think you're ready for this?"

"I don't think you know what you're getting yourself into, Rollins."

He loaded up 2k17 and warmed up his hands, "alright house rules, aka, my house my rules."

She rolled her eyes, "let's hear 'em."

"Best two out of three, first loss, you take off that tight little dress." His eyes grazed over the sweater dress, "and your leggings."

"Or you take off those sweat pants and that dumb tshirt."

"Aw does it make you jealous?" he smirked, looking down at one of Paige's _This is My House_ tshirts that he picked up back in the days of PCB. They'd been friends for a long time, Sasha knew that.

She pouted at him and he mimicked her with his own lips. "Well if you feel that way,"

In one swoop, he'd pulled it off and dropped in on the floor. Her heart skipped a beat at as he flexed for her. "Better?"

"Much."

"Ha ha ha, anyway. First loss down to underwear, second loss…" he smirked at her "well."

"Yeah yeah."

"The usual grand prize?"

She shot him a smug side eye. "Let's go,"

"Oh that got your attention did it?"

"Shut up and pick your character."

"Well, obviously, I'm going to be me," he leaned back on the couch, pushing the buttons on his controller.

"That's fine, I'll be Nakamura."

She started Nakamura's incredibly long entrance, smirking. Seth rolled his eyes and hit X to break out, attacking her from behind.

"I hate you!"

"This is war, Banks, no time for swag."

She grumbled as they fought, he was pretty good at this sort of thing. Occasionally, she'd see him flex his chest out of the corner of her eye.

"That's not going to work."

"You sure about that?"

"Pretty sure," she said, hitting him with a combo and going for a pin. He kicked out easily and started beating up on her character.

"Aha," he smirked as a little F appeared by his head. Getting Nakamura into position he went for a Pedigree.

"No! No no no!" She desperately tried to kick out but couldn't quite time it right. "NO!"

"Ha ha ha" Seth grinned as his music played on the TV. She looked over at him with wide eyes.

"How?" she groaned, tipping her head back.

"C'mon Banks, I don't have all day," he raised his eyebrows at her. "Take it off."

She grumbled, sliding the leggings off and tossing them to the side. His gaze was hot on her as she lifted the dress over her head.

"Aw, you wear that for me?" he looked her up and down. Admittedly, she had. It wasn't exactly a good travel bra, sheer white lace covering just enough, it was more something designed to make him drool. And it was working.

"Pick your jaw up from the floor Rollins, game 2." She settled in, letting his eyes run over her as she selected the match type. "I get to be me this time."

"Can you wrestle in that too?" he smirked and she glared at him. "Alright alright, I'll be Bayley."

"Game on Rollins,"

She leaned in a bit and could feel his eyes on her chest.

"That's cheating."

"No, I think it's perfectly within the rules," she said, punching his character in the face. She knew her own moveset better than he ever could, maybe this was going to go her way after all.

His eyes kept flicking between her and the screen, unable to truly focus it seemed. He kept making stupid mistakes, letting her get advantages she shouldn't have had. She smirked at him every time he did, until finally she tied the model of Bayley up on the ropes and drove her knees through her stomach.

"Haha check," she said pulling him into the middle of the ring and hitting the Bank Statement.

"Oh no you don't," he said, mashing the buttons of the controller to no avail. "Goddammit!" he threw it down as Bayley tapped out.

Sasha giggled, "don't be a bad sport, now we're even."

Her eyes ran down to his sweat pants. He bit his lip sliding them off and tossing them in a pile with hers.

"Well **I** wore these for you," he said, adjusting the tight boxer briefs. "I know how much you like them."

"Gee thanks. Alright, match set."

"I wanna be Cesaro,"

"Hey! I wanted to be Cesaro."

"You can be Sami."

"Fine," she kept her eyes straight ahead, she wouldn't fall into the same pitfalls as he did.

But Seth, he was determined. She knew well enough that once he set his mind to something, he made it happen, and apparently tonight that was getting her naked. He got her in the Swing and she knew she was in trouble. A few kicks and a Very European Uppercut later, she was shouting at the TV as he pinned her character.

"Ha ha ha," he was grinning as she shot up out of her seat.

"Fuuuuck."

"Not yet." He sat back with his hands behind his head.

"You just steal my line, Rollins?"

"Stop stalling. Or would you like help?"

She pursed her lips and moved her hair to one side in front of her shoulder. The clasp of her bra snapped in two with help from him. He pressed his lips to her neck and slipped the straps down.

"Mmm," she pushed back against him as his hands ran down her stomach and to the matching panties. He tossed both to the pile of clothes they'd accumulated.

"Don't get too comfortable, Banks," he whispered in her ear, teasing her nipples with his thumbs. "You have a job to do."

"Cute, real cute," she said pushing him down on the couch and tugging on the boxer briefs. "These are gonna have to go."

He nodded at her and leaned his head back on the couch as she pulled them down and wrapped her lips around him.

"Oh that's good…"

She pulled it out for a moment, smugly saying, "I know," and licked her lips.

"Don't-" Seth might've wanted that to sound commanding, but it was yearning instead. She smiled and went back to it as he relaxed again. "Ah… you practice this on lollipops or? Ow-shit. Okay! Shutting up."

He did shut up, but started thrusting slowly, deepening it. That could go either way for him, depending on her mood, but she let him have it tonight. When he started shaking under her, she pulled her lips up and straddled him.

"Hi," he smiled, pulling her into him as she started moving on top.

She laughed "Hi."

"How'd I taste?" His voice was raspy and thick.

"Oh shut up Rollins," she giggled, leaning into a kiss.

"That good, huh?"

She rolled her eyes, thrusting against him harder as he wrapped his arms around her.

"Hey…"

"Hm?" she mumbled from the place she'd buried herself in his hair.

"Uh…" he seemed nervous all of a sudden, she lifted up and met his eye.

"What's wrong?"

He shook his head, "nothing, don't worry about it."

XXX

She'd survived the dinner with his parents, them avoiding asking about what the relationship was. Maybe they already knew, or maybe Seth's past had made them slow to get their hopes up. They were nice, pleasant, exactly what he had described, but it wasn't until dinner was over that she breathed easy again.

"Pool?" Brandon asked Seth as they begun to clear the table.

"You trying to get your ass kicked?" he laughed. "Banks here is actually pretty decent, y'know."

"Actually pretty decent?" she said, crossing her arms. "Is that a challenge?"

"Almost always."

"Hey Seth, why don't you help me clean up," his dad said over his shoulder, "and let those two go?"

"Yeah okay," he pushed his chair out, "but when I'm done, you're going down."

"It's on," she laughed, following Brandon down to the basement.

He set up the pool table and the rack, while Sasha pulled her hair up into a high ponytail.

"That wasn't too bad was it?" he smiled at her.

"No, of course not. I mean, Seth and me, we're kinda…" she shrugged, unable to find a word that actually described it.

"Yeah," he chuckled, his laugh was just like Seth's, "so I've heard. You wanna break?"

"Sure," she leaned over the table and took her shot, sending the pool balls in different directions.

"I'm glad he has you, whatever you guys are."

"Yeah?" she asked looking up from the table.

"Yeah, I am. Honestly, I wasn't really sure how he'd take Jenna getting engaged but-"

"Jenna's engaged?"

"Oh, uh, yeah," he realized his mistake, and looked down to the table for his shot. "Just a few weeks ago."

"He didn't mention anything."

He hit the white ball into a solid, sending it into one of the pockets. "That's probably because he doesn't care. Because he has you."

"Yeah…I guess."

"I think you're good for him. Not that he needs more competition in his life, but" he laughed, "he needs that balancing force. He goes a little crazy without it."

"And I'm a balancing force?" she asked, lining up her shot.

"From the way he talks about you, pretty sure you're a force of nature."

She looked up at him from the table and blushed. "He talks about me?"

"Nonstop."

There was a patter on the stairs as Seth ran down them. "What're you guys talking about?"

"You," Brandon said, nonchalantly.

"Ha, of course. Careful with that shot, Banks, you could scratch." His eyes moved from the table down to her ass.

"Eyes forward, brother."

Seth looked up to him and laughed, and Sasha took her shot, coming up short of the pocket.

"Ugh," she glared at him, "that's your fault."

He cackled, "so easily psyched out."

She perused her lips at him as Brandon lined up his shot.

"Bathroom?"

"Top of the stairs, right across the hall."

"Thanks," she handed her cue to Seth and turned to leave, her hair dancing behind her.

"What'd dad want?" Brandon asked when she was out of the room.

"Asking about her."

"Yeah I figured, what'd you tell him?"

He leaned on the edge of the pool table. "That we've been seeing each other for a while, but she had a recent broken engagement and neither of us want to slap a label on it."

"So basically she's your girlfriend."

"Basically," a smile crept onto his face, he couldn't help it. He glanced over his shoulder, "I uh, I wanna tell her I love her."

Brandon let out a low whistle. "You got a ring?"

"Oh shut up."

He laughed, "Okay okay, but that **is** what you do when you fall for someone. How far gone are you this time?"

"Pretty…pretty far. I just haven't, I don't know, I haven't been able to say it out loud to her."

"Big surprise."

"Alright!"

"Okay," Brandon laughed, "I'm done. Seriously, you're in love with her, and she's good for you. Don't let your pride ruin it because you're afraid she'll reject you."

XXX

Coming out of his master bathroom later that night, he rubbed a towel to his hair and grinned at the sight. Sasha was stretched out on his bed, wearing one of his many Black and Brave Wrestling Academy tshirts, it was a little too small for him, hitting higher than usual on her bare thigh. His Yorkie was stretched out on his back, wagging his tail as she rubbed his belly and scratched behind his ears. She smiled up at him.

"Ha, you enjoying yourself?" Seth laughed.

"I can get used to this."

"Oh me too," he put his towel back up on the hook on the door, and climbed into bed with them.

"Sorry, there's no more room," she teased, her eyes glimmering.

"Yeah?" he straddled her, pinning her down to the bed and kissing her neck.

"Hey hey hey, not in front of Kevin!"

"Fine, Kevin, shoo!" he pushed the puppy gently and he barked before jumping off the bed and waddling out of the room.

"Horrible."

"I bought him the fanciest doggie bed ever, he can sleep in the living room." He leaned in to kiss her on the mouth and she laced her fingers in his wet hair.

"This shirt looks good on you," he said in a hungry voice, starting to feel her through the fabric.

She giggled as he buried his face into the crook of her neck and started kissing.

"You should keep it," he whispered in her ear.

"Yeah?"

"If you're wearing it like this, definitely."


	22. Chapter 22

A/N: So looks like I can't figure out the mechanics of Fanfic once more, let me know in the comments if you have a preference between fast, short updates one chapter at a time, or slower, long chapter dumps with like 3 in a set.

XXX

In the morning, he woke up to her snuggled into his sheets. Not just the sheets of his hotel room be or his tour bus. His sheets in his bed in his home, and it felt like she belonged there. She stirred, her hair sprawled out on his pillow.

"Morning, beautiful," he whispered.

She laughed, "Morning, corny."

"You love it."

"Maybe a little." She hoisted the comforter up and over her shoulders, closing her eyes.

"I'm gonna go make coffee, come down when you're ready?"

"Mmm might be a while."

"We gotta leave in like an hour," he said kissing her cheek, and rolling out of bed.

In the kitchen he shuffled around, putting a pot of coffee on and scrolling through his phone when the doorbell rang. He opened it to Jenna standing in her winter work out clothes.

"Hey, sorry to drop by, I was on a run and your car was in the driveway…"

"Right, no, it's good actually, I'm leaving tomorrow for a big stint. I meant to text you" He led her inside, glancing up the stairs. "So I take it you never got around to changing your address."

She laughed, following him into the kitchen, "Yeah, well you know how the department of transport is,"

"Nightmare, it's in here somewhere," he started shuffling through the mass of mail on his kitchen table.

"I got a minute," she leaned up on the island. "Work's good?"

"Yeah it's been really good lately."

"That's good."

He heard footsteps in the entryway, and turned to see Sasha, his tshirt tucked haphazardly into a pair of her athletic shorts and her thick black glasses on her nose. _Okay, this is fine_ he told himself, retconning the situation quickly.

"Hey, she's up. Sasha this is Jenna, Jenna, Sasha. Her jury duty papers got sent here by mistake."

"Oh, hi," she smiled that sweet little smile, but was clearly a little uncomfortable.

"Your coffee's in the blue mug," he told her, still sifting through what might've been a month's worth of mail.

"So you're Sasha Banks, huh?" Jenna asked, there was a little sharpness in her voice.

Sasha took a sip of her coffee, "that's me."

"The girl from the TMZ interview,"

"Ha, you watched that?" Seth laughed.

"It got passed around at O'Maley's."

"Of course it did."

"You know the one," she put on a sarcastic impression of him, "'the Man doesn't mess around, the Man doesn't have time.'"

Sasha laughed with her, sipping her coffee.

"Apparently he does," Jenna said with a scoff.

"Oh it's not-"

Jenna cut her off, "sweetheart, you're standing there in his shirt. Why bother?"

There was a moment of tense silence, Seth looked over his shoulder with his eyes wide.

"Easy," he said.

"You know, you're unbelievable, Seth. You never could keep your hands off the twenty year olds, could you?"

"Jen. Enough," he pulled out an envelope and put it on the counter in front of her. "Here,"

"Does she know?"

"Do I know what?" Sasha looked from her to him, her stare measured.

"You should g-"

"No," Sasha interrupted, "Do I know what, Seth?"

"So then you didn't tell your little conquest that you came crawling to me two weeks ago, begging me to take you back?"

"Excuse me?" Sasha crossed her arms.

"Stand down, I'm doing you a favor," she told Sasha, and then looked back at Seth, "knocking on my door, drunk, telling me how much you missed me, and asking me not to marry him?"

"Seth," Sasha's eyes were filling with tears. "Tell me that's not true."

He looked at her shaking his head, "I…Sash, I, I'm sorry-"

"Oh my god."

"Jenna, please,"

"Asking me, begging me to elope with you?" She raised her voice, hurt in her voice.

" **Elope**?" Sasha was stunned, horrified.

"You said there was no one you wouldn't give up for me."

He tilted his head at Sasha, trying to apologize. There was a tear streaming down her cheek now.

"And then, to top it all off,"

"Jen," he closed his eyes tightly.

"Even though you were coming home to her, you go and you kiss me."

"You kissed me," he corrected.

"That's not how I remember it."

"You need to go, Jenna. Now."

She swiped the envelope up from the counter. "Good luck," she said to Sasha and turned on her heels.

Seth followed her to the door, slamming it behind her. He ran his hands over his beard, his heart beating quickly in his chest. Sasha slipped behind him, not saying anything, and started up the stairs.

"Sash," he called after her. He followed her up them when she didn't respond. "Sasha, baby, please,"

"I can't do this with you right now," she said forcefully, spinning around.

"Just give me a chance to explain-"

"We have a segment tonight," she stormed into the bedroom, pulling her suitcase onto the bed. "We have to get through it, so I can't do this right now."

He watched her shuffle through for her clothes and fold up the ones she was wearing last night, tossed on a chair during a steamy session.

"Are you packing your things?" he asked quietly.

"I don't want to stay here tonight."

"Okay. I'll drive you wherever you want to go."

XXX

The contract signing was bound to be a messy one, with contracts between Sasha and Bayley, Seth, Cesaro, and Kevin, and then between Sasha and Seth. She came out in her high heels and cut up merch shirt, not making eye contact with him until she absolutely had to.

"The women of WWE are taking over," she proclaimed into her mic, "and on Sunday, I prove it once and for all. You'll never take us light again."

Her eyes flickered up at him, the first time she'd looked him in the eye all day. His stomach did a back flip.

"Bring it," he kept his voice measured and in character, though it wasn't easy. He leaned over and signed the contract allowing the WWE Universe to decide the winner of their competition.

She did the same, flipping her hair back as she did. When she handed it to Stephanie, she met his gaze with an icy stare from across the table. As the folder left her hands, she slapped him across the face, hard. He stumbled backwards, that wasn't what they talked about. Kevin Owen's eyes were wide, but he improvised, punching Seth's face in the other direction.

"Oh c'mon!" he shouted as they broke into an all out brawl.

Sasha elbowed Bayley back and she retaliated with the Bayley to Belly. Cesaro Uppercuted Seth, and when security finally broke it all up, him and Sasha were left laid out in the ring. He looked at her, getting to his feet and offering her a hand. Her eyes met his, sharp with pain, but she followed the script and accepted. They looked at each other before taking separate routes out of the ring while the Raw theme hit, signaling the end of the televised show.

As they rounded the corner of the curtain he said softly, "Sash," but was cut off by the New Day and the Revival who were about to go on for the dark match. There was no privacy around here. Hunter nodded to them as he saw them go by.

"Good seg, a little off book but I liked it."

Sasha smiled and kept walking.

"Hey Hunter," he said, his voice low, "can we borrow your office real quick?"

"To fight or to fuck?"

"Fight," he said, in a sad tone.

"Yeah, okay."

"Thanks," he ran after her, "Sasha, wait up."

She looked back at him with an exhausted look on her face.

"In here," he pulled her into the office of the arena and she didn't object. " **Now** can we talk?"

Sasha looked away, her arms crossed. When she did speak, her voice came out croaked, "you said you could explain yourself?"

"I…I fucked up. Okay? I see that. I…got emotional when Brandon told me she was engaged, we had too much to drink, I didn't go there with the intention of saying any of that. I just lost my head and I'm sorry, I am so, so sorry, Sasha."

"That's not a very good explanation."

"I know," he hung his head, running his fingers through his hair. "But it's the best I got."

"Don't you lie to me right now, Seth."

"I won't."

"You asked her not to marry him?"

"Yes," he said quietly, shamefully.

"And asked her to elope with you?"

"Yes."

"And that there was-"

"Yes, Sasha, I said that." He didn't let her finish the sentence, he didn't want to hear it. But Sasha forced the issue.

"There was no one who you wouldn't give up for her?" her voice was shaking, sniffling and blinking away tears.

"Baby,"

"Don't!" she raised her voice to him, she rarely did that to anyone. "Don't you dare!" The tears started. "How could you do this? After everything, after the last time you bolted in on me? You told me you were in this."

"I am in this."

"You're kissing your ex-fiancé! That doesn't exactly say dedication, Seth."

"Sasha, please, I'm sorry."

"Oh you're sorry! Like you were sorry last time?"

"This is nothing like last time, this is complicated."

"You told me that you needed me to trust you more. And I did, I held up my end of the deal! You went and broke that trust." Her mascara was running, and she wiped under her eye.

"I know, I wish I could take it back. "

"Did you mean it?" she asked through a sniffle. "That you'd give me up for her?"

"I was wrong. That would've been the biggest mistake of my life."

"Did you **mean** it, Seth?"

He paused, looking down at his fidgeting hands, "in the moment, I thought I did."

She looked away, trying to avoid bursting out into tears right there. "So if she had said yes, you'd be married right now?"

"I…I don't know."

"I should've known," she shook her head.

"How can I make this right?"

"You can't," she said sharply. His tears were forming in his eyes too.

"I'll find a way."

"No," she rubbed her eye again, leaving a trail of black across her hand. "I don't think you will."

"There has to be a way."

"Why?"

"Because I'm in love with you Sash! And I'm not walking away like that!"

She was stunned, opening her mouth didn't make the words come, and she just sniffled. A knock came at the door, and Hunter poked his head in.

"Sorry to interrupt, but I gotta get on a plane back to Stamford."

"It's fine," she said, shaking it off and wiping some tears from her cheeks. "Seth was about to drive me back to the hotel."

Pushing passed him she left the room. Seth started to follow, but Hunter caught his arm.

"How badly did you screw up?" he asked in a low, concerned tone.

"Pretty badly."

"Seth!" she called impatiently, "C'mon."

Hunter watched him with a frown as he left the room and followed her out to the parking lot.

XXX

As they pulled up to the hotel where the rest of the locker room was staying, she unbuckled her seatbelt wordlessly.

"Call me if you change your mind, okay?" he said, trying to get her to meet his gaze. "Sasha look at me, don't think for a second that I won't turn around and drive two hours back if you decide you want to talk. Because I will."

She looked at him for a moment, her eyes puffy from crying. "Goodnight, Seth."

He didn't try to stop her as she closed the door behind her and took her suitcase from the trunk. The car waited until she was inside to drive away, and Sasha took a deep breath, taking out her phone.

"Hello?" the voice on the other end answered.

"Woodsy? I need a favor, no questions asked."

Xavier opened the door of his hotel room a few minutes later, and she flung her arms around him.

"Thank you."

"Anytime, Boss." He ran a hand over the back of her head, "Look I'll honor the no questions card, but if you **want** to talk about it…"

She didn't respond except in tears, letting it all go, sobbing against his shoulder.

"Oh Sasha," he held her tighter. The two of them had been through a lot together. He owed her a no questions asked from an incident last year, but honestly, she trusted him more than anyone, even Bayley, to just let her be. She didn't want to admit to what had happened between them.

"I am so stupid," she blubbered.

"No, oh baby girl, no," he shook his head. "He's the one who's stupid. Or…she I guess, I don't know your life."

She laughed through the tears. "I'm gonna take a shower,"

"Okay," he let her go and climbed back into one of the two queen beds in the room. "I'll see you in the morning."


	23. Chapter 23

Xavier didn't ask any more questions, just like he'd agreed. They went to the gym and got breakfast, and he distracted her with chatter about the next thing he was doing with his gaming channel and his PhD research. She helped him carry his equipment to the van as they loaded up for the drive to Minneapolis.

"Eyyyy! Sasha!" Big E gave her a hug as he came by with his bags. "I didn't know you were with us today!"

"Yeah change of plans,"

"She already called shotgun," Xavier added as he took Big E's bags.

"What! Goddammit!"

They got to the venue around the same time that Seth did, she saw him from across the room at catering. He let her be, at least for now, not attempting to break her cold solder. Both of them ignored one another throughout the day, it wasn't difficult, they managed to be on opposite sides of the venue most of the time. At dinner he walked into catering again, she was sitting with the New Day boys and Bayley, not talking, not laughing. He sat down at a table by himself rather than dealing with the silence between them.

In the locker room before his match with the Revival against the New Day, Seth finished combing his hair and warmed up. The door opened, and Xavier walked in to put on his boots.

"Hey man," Seth said, "where are the other two?"

"They're off with JoJo catching Pokemon, I had to do something for Up Up Dow Down so I'm behind schedule."

"We got a match to go," he said looking up at the monitor, the match before them, Dana and Bayley, had just begun with entrances.

"Yeah…Hey you know the strangest thing happened to me last night."

"What's that?"

"Sasha calls me at like, midnight, asking if she could crash in my room, no questions asked."

"Yeah?" Seth could feel a knot in his throat. What was Xavier saying?

"Yeah and so obviously I said yes, and she shows up cry hysterically about how stupid she was,"

"Huh."

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you?" Xavier looked up at him from the bench, his eyes narrowed.

"So that's what this is then?"

"That's what it is. Look man, I've known there was a guy for a long time, Sasha thinks she's slick but she's not. And I'm happy to give her that privacy, but the second she's getting hurt, we have a problem." He stood up facing Seth.

"Oh we have a problem do we?"

"Yeah. We do."

"What makes you so sure I'm your guy, Woods?"

"Seth, C'mon man. It's pretty obvious. We were in your town last night, the two of you are always together, and she smiles whenever she says your name. Or at least, she did."

"Alright, you win. We've been sleeping together for months, is that what you want to hear? We just got into a little fight last night, she didn't wanna stay with me."

"Little fight? She seemed pretty upset for a little fight."

"What do you want from me?"

"I'm just letting you know that Sasha, she's special to people around here. So if you think that you can play with her feelings and string her along,"

"That's not what happened." Seth said sharply, his brow furrowed and the heat rising in his face. "I'd never do that."

"You really don't have the best reputation when it comes to women."

"I wouldn't do that. Not to Sasha," he said again.

"You better not." Xavier stepped closer to him, his gaze steady.

"Get out of my face, Woods. This doesn't even concern you." Seth felt the rage boiling in his stomach.

"We're talking about my best friend, so yeah, I think it concerns me. You're not gonna get away with hurting her, so if that's where this is going, you're gonna wanna stay away."

"Is that a threat?" He was about to explode.

Xavier didn't know jack shit about what happened between them. Sasha shows up crying one time and he thinks he has the authority to get in the middle of their business?

"Damn right it is."

"I said," he felt his temper snapping, shoving Xavier back, "get out of my face!"

"Whoa!" Sami and Kevin were in the doorway as Xavier stumbled backwards. "What's going on guys?" asked Sami.

"Nothing, just having a chat." Seth said, fuming.

"Looked like more than a chat there, Seth," Sami crossed his arms.

Seth didn't respond, he pushed past them and made his way to the curtain, his mind racing. Bayley came out and smiled at him, seemed like Sasha hadn't told her yet about what had happened. Dash and Dawson came up, they were chatting about something or another. Seth didn't pay attention, his brain was too busy going through everything that had happened in the last 48 hours.

His music hit and he shook it off, putting on his character for his entrance. He was grateful to be working with the bad guys tonight, a little extra aggression would do him good. The New Day came out and did a promo before setting up across the ring. Xavier caught his eye and then looked away as Dawson started up with Kofi. It was a good match for a house show, nothing spectacular, but well worked.

Eventually him and Xavier were staring each other down in the ring. The frustration had been building in him all match long and when Xavier came swinging at him, he felt it exploding in his chest. He didn't know how it happened, it must've been a momentary miscalculation, a split second poor decision, and in a flash he was coming at Xavier too stiffly with a knee.

Xavier stumbled backwards, holding his nose. When he pulled his hand away he was bleeding and the ref had him tag out so that he could be cleaned up. Seth felt a pit in his stomach as they finished the match and made their exits. He was certain he'd just made everything worse.

XXX

Sasha entered the trainer's room, Xaiver was sitting on one of the tables, holding an ice pack to his nose. Big E and Kofi were sitting in chairs on the side, they were talking about the match for Roadblock.

"Hey, are you alright?" She asked, sitting next to him on the table.

"Yeah, yeah it's just swollen and a little bloody." He took another tissue and pressed it to his nose.

"Woods will be fine," Kofi laughed, "he's taken worse."

"Good good," she smiled at him and Xavier looked at her, letting out a small sigh.

"Guys would you give us a minute?"

"Uh yeah, okay. See ya later, Banks." Big E nodded as him and Kofi walked out of the room.

"What's wrong?" she asked, sitting down next to him on the table.

"Look, I'm pretty sure he's gonna tell you so I'd rather you hear it from me. This," he tapped his nose, "was about you."

"About me? What are you talking about?"

"I know you didn't want me to get involved,"

"Involved with what?"

"Sash," he tilted his head, "C'mon. Drop the act. I know you were the girl in the closet with him, and I know he's the guy you were crying about last night."

She ran her hand through her hair, "Okay, yeah."

"And I…confronted him about it."

"Woods!"

"I know, I know, I'm sorry. I knew you wouldn't want me to, and I did it anyway."

"What'd he say?"

"Well he didn't seem to really appreciate me threatening him, obviously," he laughed a little, pressing his icepack back to his nose.

"Sorry."

"Me too. You're a big girl, you can fight for yourself. You didn't need me riding in to save the day. You're tough, honestly, I'd be scared shitless if I were Rollins."

She laughed a little, feeling the tears behind her eyes. Xavier laughed too, and then stopped as he looked up. Sasha turned to Seth standing in the doorway, looking smaller than he'd ever seen him.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Xavier said shortly. "fine."

"I'm sorry, it was an accident."

"Uh no, no it wasn't," his tone was sharp.

"I lost my temper, I'm sorry, but I didn't mean to give you a bloody nose."

"Alright, it's cool."

There was an awkward silence between the three of them. After a moment he looked at Sasha.

"You alright, Sash?" his voice was strained, his eyes soft and sad.

"Yeah."

"Do you wanna go somewhere, get a cup of coffee and talk?" he asked quietly.

She looked at him for a second before shaking her head.

"No."

Sasha slipped off of the table and walked passed him out the door.

Seth didn't attempt to stop her, just leaned his head back against the cool cement wall. "Goddammit."

Xavier's eyes were on him, and he raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"The last time I saw that look on your face was when Jenna dumped you."

"Yeah…"

"You're really hurting aren't you?"

He pulled his head down and met Xavier's eye. "She is everything to me."

XXX

"Hey Sasha, it's Seth…again." He sighed, pressing the phone to his ear and feeling pathetic. "Listen I'm not an idiot, I get it, you're screening my calls. I know you don't want to talk to me but I…I just have to try. Y'know, I keep thinking maybe she'll pick up this time and if there's a sliver of a chance that'll happen, I'm not willing to give up on it. I know, I know how I sound, I-"

A long beep cut him off, and the line went dead. He'd actually managed to fill up her voicemail in about 4 days. He put the phone down and ran his fingers through his hair. Why wouldn't she just talk to him? She was always doing this, and it was more painful than her shouting at him.

He stood up to feed Kevin and make dinner, feeling the pit in his stomach growing. She was so frustrating sometimes. Her silence was brutal, and sure, he knew well enough to just give her some space and wait for her to be ready to talk to him. But the fear she might never talk to him again was enough to drive him crazy. To top it all off, Roadblock was tomorrow, plus the fall out on Monday. They really couldn't afford to not be on speaking terms right now.

Was it wrong for him to think she was being a bit selfish about the whole thing? That made the guilty knot tighten. He'd fucked up, badly. But at the same time, he was trying to make this right, and he was the only one around here who seemed to be trying. The frustration kept building in him as he ate his dinner alone.

"Kevin!" he whistled at the dog, who perked his ears up but didn't come running. "Here boy. No? You're gonna ignore me too?"

He sighed, collapsing on the couch. There was a lot to do before leaving for Pittsburgh, he had to drop Kevin off with Brandon again, and he'd barely had any time at home. Maybe that's why Kevin was mad at him. He looked at his phone, it was 8:30, he'd told the driver pick up with his bus at 9:00, so he probably should get his bags together and run to Brandon's. Instead he stared at his phone for a minute.

"What the hell." He went into recent calls which was nothing but red missed calls to Sasha Banks. He clicked on her name again. It rang twice.

"Hi it's Sasha, I'm not here right now, so leave me a message and I'll get back to you!" Her voicemail message was sweet and bright, but it went through without a voice telling him the voicemail was full. She'd listened to his messages and deleted them.

He sighed, "I gotta tell ya, Sash, you've got the coldest shoulder in the game. But you can't avoid me forever, alright? Goddammit Sasha, call me back will ya? If you're trying to hurt me, it's fucking working."

XXX

" _If you're trying to hurt me, it's fucking working."_

The voicemail ended and she threw the phone down on her hotel bed. Who was he to try to play the victim? After what had happened between them, he should be groveling to get her back. Well, he kind of was between voicemails 3-9. At first he was just asking her to please call him back, talk to him, and work this out. Then he started getting desperate, he wasn't much of a crier but she felt like she could hear him choking every now and then. It seemed like he'd finally had enough and was pissed off that she wouldn't give him the chance.

He was right, though, she couldn't avoid him forever. They were in separate matches tomorrow night but there'd be preshow and backstage segments. Not to mention their interaction Monday night, in front of a large crowd in Philadelphia over who had won their bet. Would she be able to keep herself from crying when he spoke to her in that harsh tone?

And he was right, that they had to deal with it eventually. Either choose to push past it or split for good. She just wasn't ready to make that call. Part of her couldn't stand the thought of not being with him, but there was another part that also couldn't stand the thought of him on his knees begging for Jenna to take him back. Even if they smoothed everything out, she wasn't sure she'd ever stop wondering if she could make him as happy as Jenna did.

Oh and the "I'm in love with you," that was a load of bullshit wasn't it? He was a master at saying what he needed to say to get want he wanted to get. The timing alone was suspicious enough. He knew, he knew she was falling for him and he told her what she wanted to hear to keep her around. For what? The sex? It was good but this was low, this was really low for the sake of keeping her in his bed. And it wasn't going to work. Not a chance.


	24. Chapter 24

Sasha and Bayley went to war for 25 straight minutes. They'd done 30 minutes in NXT with hardly any rest holds, so they agreed they could do it again. It was the most brutal match she'd ever been in, both of them trying to prove management wrong for not giving the women the steel cage a few months ago. Near fall after near fall, high-risk spot after high-risk spot, they took each other to their limits. Sasha even got in another Phoenix Splash to remind everyone what was at stake, and Bayley looked impressive kicking out of it. Finally, Sasha got the Bank Statement in and Bayley tapped.

Holding up her title, she grinned at the crowd. Bayley lifted herself up from the floor and gave Sasha a big hug. The tears were streaming down both of their faces.

"No one else, Bay, no one I'd rather do this with."

"Ditto, sister."

They both beamed and Byron stepped into the ring to ask her a question. She snatched the mic out of his hands and looked towards the curtain.

"Beat _that_ , Rollins."

He was waiting for her when she came through the curtain to do their backstage segment. She'd be dreading it all day, but he seemed to have his composure, perfectly in character.

"Congrats, Banks. I gotta say though, you were a little over-rotated on the Phoenix Splash, didn't maximize your impact. I could show you sometime," he said in that flirty on-camera voice.

She rolled her eyes, "You know something Rollins? I think you talk smack when you're scared."

"Scared am I?"

"To follow that? I think so."

"Ha ha ha, co-main events are a funny thing. They don't really exist now do they? There's a match that goes on last, and there's a match that doesn't."

He stared her down for a moment, and on cue his music started playing.

"Oh, and there's the match that's going on last."

He turned and walked out to the arena, cackling. The cameras stopped rolling and moved, but Sasha watched him all the way out.

XXX

In the hotel bar, they all raised a glass to the New Era. Seth had narrowly avoided losing his title in an instant classic, and everyone was on their phones looking at the Twitter response. He'd managed to slip into the booth right after her, as they had done dozens of times over the past few months. This time, however, he didn't slide his hand over her knee, or purposely brush against her arm. He knew better than to lean into her ear to whisper something mundane and watch her squirm under his breath, especially with Xavier watching him from across the table. None of that was his intention, he just hoped that being close to him would make her remember how he made her feel and she'd be more willing to work it out by the end of the night. So far though, she was just straight up ignoring him.

"Alright the poll is posted!" Bayley said, looking up from her phone. "I'll be voting for Sasha Banks, thank you."

"Aw c'mon Bayley," he joked, "I thought we had something."

"I'm voting for her too," Xavier said, maybe still a little bitter about what had happened.

"Me too," Kofi agreed, Sami nodded with him.

"I'll vote for ya, Seth," Finn said smiling, trying to maneuver in the slimmer sling. "Mostly cause o' Kevin, but hey."

"I'll take it." He laughed, things felt surprisingly comfortable. Leaning in on his elbows he looked over at Sasha. "I'll vote for you if you vote for me."

"No," she said simply, and the others laughed.

"She is savage."

"You're breaking my heart, Banks," he said in a joking tone, leaning back and taking a drink of his scotch. Bayley gave him a strange look, but it seemed to go over the heads of everyone else.

"What's Twitter saying?" Sasha asked, trying to change the subject.

" 'Sasha and Bayley kicked Seth's ass! Bayley is my favorite heart heart heart' "Bayley read from her phone.

"Alright, you cherry picked that one."

"They're fairly even," Xavier said, scrolling through the Roadblock tag. "Maybe a bit more in Sasha's favor. WhatCulture has an informal poll up."

"Let's hear it,"

"62% Sasha, 36% Seth, 2% Jobber"

"Daamn." He smiled at Sasha, "you might've pulled this off."

She just looked down at her drink and it stung. All he wanted was to celebrate this with her, but she was completely shut off.

"I'm seeing Match of the Year 2016!" Bayely grinned, "high five sister!"

Sasha laughed and sipped her drink.

"Don't get too cocky," Seth teased, "We'll see who's on top at the end of the month."

Bayley smiled at him but Sasha didn't respond. He couldn't stand it anymore, and he was bound to do something he'd regret if he stuck around any longer.

"I think I'm headed up," he said abruptly, "this was fun guys."

"Aw Seth, we just got here," Finn protested and Seth felt a little guilty. He'd come all this way and given up those precious days of rehab for this.

"I'm sorry, I'm just exhausted. I'll see you guys in Philadelphia though,"

"Are you sure?" Bayley asked him, her eyes flickered to Sasha.

"Yeah, I am."

One side of the booth let him out, and he waved to them. As he exited the bar he took one last glance at them. Her eyes were on him and she quickly looked away. He wanted to go back, kiss her, apologize, make her understand somehow, but he didn't. He couldn't and he knew it.

XXX

Sasha loved the feeling of walking down to the ring with the belt around her waist and the crowd roaring. She strutted down flipping her hair and grinning. Climbing into the middle of the ring she took a mic.

"That's right, that's right, the Boss Sasha Banks went to war last night with Bayley, and I came out on top. Now I've never taken Bayley easy, I knew what I was walking into last night, I knew she would take me to my limits, and she did. But together, we tore the house down. We left everything in that ring for all of you and if I would do it again in a heart beat. Which is why I have to be a gracious champion and say, thank you Bayley."

"Thank you Bayley" chants started and Sasha couldn't help but smile.

"Yeah yeah, she still lost guys. But that's not why I'm out here. Seth Rollins and I agreed to let you, the WWE Universe decide who proved they were the better champ last night. It's something I've been working towards for more than 6 months. And proving women can hit just as hard as the boys, that's something I've been working on my whole life. So let's take a look at what you had to say, shall we?"

The titantron changed to the online poll from WWE's website. They were split, 59% Sasha to 41% Seth. The crowd cheered and she grinned.

"We did it guys."

"Women's wrestling" chants started and she laughed, it was unbelievable. His music interrupted them. She rolled her eyes and glared at the ramp, but was caught off guard when he came out in sneakers and jeans, topped off by one of her merch shirts. A vintage style Legit Boss tshirt pulled over his biceps, and it made her heart skip a beat. He hadn't told her he was going to do that.

He grinned at held his hands out laughing as the crowd started cheering for her again.

"Alright settle down, you look surprised to see me, Banks."

"Not exactly."

"Hey now, I'm man enough to admit when I've been beat. The WWE Universe has spoken, we had a deal, and I'll honor it."

"And the shirt?"

"This shirt? Oh this was just to be cute. Thanks for noticing." He winked at her, "now normally I might've been inclined to dispute that poll. But unfortunately, I have to admit that every report, every rater, and just about all of social media called in the match of the night too. Some people are even saying match of the year. So yeah, you did it."

His eyes were kind and she smiled lightly.

"And you know something Banks, you and me, we're not so different. I can see it when you're out there, you'll do whatever it takes to be the best. I respect that, I respect what you put out there last night. I still think you're an insufferable brat who tries to step on everyone else to make herself a name. This isn't over, and it never will be. But, for now, I've got a front row ticket to your main event in 2017."

He held out his hand and she looked at it before meeting his gaze. She shook it, the crowd cheered as he lifted her hand and her music started again. He nodded to her as he exited the ring, giving her a few more moments to celebrate with the crowd.

She fully expected him to be waiting for her at guerilla and he smiled sheepishly when he saw her.

"So that's that," he said. Their feud was officially over, Paige would be coming for her title and Seth would drop the belt at the Royal Rumble to Kevin Owens.

"That's that," she said shortly, walking past him. "Nice shirt."

"It was just a gesture," he said, not letting her get ahead of him.

"Nice gesture."

"Can we talk, please?"

"Not right now," she sped up her pace, navigating the crowded hallways with him on her heels.

"When?"

"I don't know but not right now."

"Hey!" he snapped, heading her off and stopping her in her tracks. "Enough of this already."

Sasha glance to the side, realizing they had stopped right in front of a group of their friends who were watching the monitors as the show continued.

"You don't wanna be with me? Fine. But be a grown up and say the words to my face."

"Seth, can we do this somewhere else?" she asked quietly, feeling all the eyes on her.

"Oh now you wanna talk? No we can do this right here, right now."

"You're acting like a child."

" **I'm** acting like a child? You've been pulling the silent treatment for days. I get it, okay? I know I fucked up and there might not be any coming back from that. But I think you owe me the goddamn common courtesy of telling me I've been dumped."

Her face was stunned, her eyes swelling with tears.

"You don't get to-"

"I think I do Sash, because I tried to get you to talk to me, I tried to work this out. You know that." His temper was boiling, and his voice was raised, "I wanted this. I wanted to make this right. I **love** you, but if you don't love me, if you don't want this, then so be it. If you'd rather screen my calls and avoid me than face me and tell me it's over, then I don't need this. I don't need this **shit** Sasha."

A tear was streaming down her cheek, and she looked at him speechless before croaking out, "it's over."

He stood there for a minute, his heart dropping into his stomach, his stomach twisting in knots. Had he really been foolish enough to think maybe she wouldn't? Bayley was between them suddenly, looking up at him with a stare he'd never seen before.

"I think you should leave now, Seth."

"I-"

"Now, Seth." She said, her tone measured but fierce.

He put his hands up and walked away, glancing only once at the stunned faces watching him. Xavier, Big E, Kofi, Charlotte, Kevin, Sami, basically anyone they'd hung out with together in the past two years.

Bayley's put her arm around Sasha, as the tears started coming.

"C'mon, let's get out of here," she said in a soft voice.

XXX

There was a knock at the hotel room door, Dana got up from the queen bed at answered it.

"Alright, I got a bottle of white and a bottle of rosé," Charlotte said, walking into Sasha's room with a paper bag from the liquor store.

"For four of us?" Bayley laughed.

"One for Sasha, one for the three of us," she shrugged, walking over to the mini bar for glasses.

"Thanks," Sasha said as Charlotte handed her a glass of wine, her eyes red and puffy from the sobbing session. "This is déjà vu,"

Charlotte smiled, "last time it was you, me and Bex, these two were still in Orlando."

"And you still bought a separate bottle of wine for me," Sasha said with a small laugh.

"I know how to do a break up right," she smiled and gave Sasha a big hug.

"Thank you."

"Rollins is a moron," Dana offered, they weren't particularly close, but she was trying.

"Seconded." Charlotte said, taking a swig of her wine.

"I…" Bayley started, they all looked at her.

"Bayely. Just said you do too," Charlotte commanded. "It's not complicated."

"Listen," she looked at Sasha, "What he did was dumb and it was hurtful, and he was a real jerk tonight. But…babe he's been good for you."

"Bayley…" Charlotte said, her eyes wide.

"No," Sasha said, "she's right."

"I get why you broke up with him and I told you I'd help you kick his ass if you needed me to, which, by the way, is still on the table,"

"Ooh me too," Charlotte nodded, smiling deviously.

"but don't erase what you had there. He made you happy, I saw it."

Sasha nodded, taking a tissue and blowing her nose.

"He was wrong about one thing though," she said, looking at Bayley. "I do love him."

"I noticed," Bayley said, laughing.

Sasha laughed too, "we were such a mess."

XXX

Seth sat alone at the bar of the hotel, staring at a half empty glass of scotch and his thumbs. No one had said anything to him since he blew up at Sasha, they'd all avoided his gaze and scrambled away when they saw him. Fuck it, this was the top of the mountain, and he was there alone, just like he always was. Sasha couldn't change that for him, he was an idiot to think that it would.

A hand was on his shoulder and it made him jump.

"Easy brother," Roman sat down in the stool next to him. "I heard about…"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Okay. Then can I sit in silence with you?"

"Yeah… I guess so."

"Fan-fucking-tastic," he laughed. Roman flagged down the bartender "Rum and coke? Thanks. And how many of those has he had?" he asked, nodding to Seth's scotch.

"That's the third," the bartender responded.

"He's cut off."

"Thanks Dad," Seth said sarcastically.

"You're welcome."

They sat in silence for a minute, just like Roman promised. Finally it was Seth who spoke.

"What do you think she's doing right now?"

"Well, actually, I ran into Charlotte on my way down here, she had a brown bag of wine and said she was going up to Sasha's."

"Glad we have the same coping strategy."

"It's almost like you're alike in every way," Roman said with an eye roll.

Seth paused for a second, staring straight ahead, "I love her."

"I know, man, I know."

Seth buried his face in his hands.

"Maybe," Roman started, "Maybe if you give her some time…"

"I dunno, she's stubborn as hell."

"So are you."

"Ha, so, what, we see who out stubborns the other?"

Roman shrugged, "I'm just saying, maybe you don't have to give up on her."

"Yeah…maybe. I was a real dick tonight."

"I heard."

Seth sighed. "They're all gonna hate me from now on."

"I don't know about that. People will get over it."

"Sasha's beloved. I'm just some guy who was messing around with her and then broke her heart."

"You're not just some guy to anyone around here. And we both know you weren't just messing around."

"Yeah, well, you were right, I don't do in-between really well."

"Let me guess…"

"I got overly invested and freaked out and we both got hurt."

"Yep…" Roman sighed. "I'm not trying to rub it in, but if you just told her how you felt from the start…"

"I know," Seth said sharply and Roman backed off. "It doesn't matter any more. She made her decision."


	25. Chapter 25

They returned from the break for Christmas on the first Monday of the New Year, and Seth was in a terrible mood. He'd called her a few days after their fight, but she didn't pick up, big surprise. Still he left a voicemail telling her he was sorry for losing his temper and embarrassing her, and that he was really just trying to get through to her somehow. By the end of the message his voice started doing that whiny, desperate thing again. He hated that. Maybe next time an email would be a better choice.

Brandon must've told their parents what had happened, they didn't mention anything about Sasha at Christmas. Once or twice he asked Seth if he wanted to talk about it. The answer was always no. Instead, he just spent most of the week feeling frustrated and unhappy. Attempts to get his mind off of her were useless, as he quickly learned after he bombed a game of Madden and read an entire book without any idea of what had happened in it.

Backstage at the episode of Raw, the Slammys, it was particularly hectic. Anyone who wasn't going to or coming from a match was dressed up, the clicking of high heels was echoing in his head as he walked back from a match with Sami.

A PA caught up to him, "Seth we need you in interview room 3 in 15 for your segments with Sasha."

"With SASHA?"

"Yeah the Slammy competition segments."

"Oh right, that." He'd completely forgotten they still had that to do. "I'll change quick."

He was still adjusting his tie as he ran into the interview room. The cameras were set up but Sasha wasn't there. Her music was playing on the monitor, she'd won Rivalry of the Year with Charlotte. The producer on duty ran through the segment with Seth, he vaguely remembered reading it in an email from Hunter.

"Alright positions, she'll be her in a minute."

Seth tightened his hair and leaned up against a production crate they'd brought in, pretending to have been watching the flat screen TV.

"and…rolling."

He scoffed at the tv and Sasha walked in with a smug look on her face. His throat plummeted into his stomach when he saw her. She was wearing the same tight lace dress she'd worn on their date.

"One nothing, Rollins," she said as she placed the Slammy down on the production crate.

"Easy, Banks, we got all night."

"Hmmf," she turned back to the monitor and he watched her before laughing himself.

"And we're off," the producer said, "alright we have to be all over tonight, but it'd be easiest if you both stayed here."

"Yeah," Seth said, pulling two chairs up from behind the camera guy. "No problem."

"Thanks," she said, pulling out her phone from her handbag in a corner and sitting down as the crew left the room.

"Yeah," he sat next to her, that frustration boiling in him again.

He could've congratulated her on the Slammy, or told her that her hair looked nice tonight, or even ask how her Christmas was. But Seth didn't say any of those things.

"You wear that tonight to torture me?"

Her head whipped towards him, with wide eyes and an offended scoff.

"I cannot believe you."

"Cause it's working."

"It's just a goddamn dress."

"You look beautiful tonight, is what I'm trying to say," his voice was low and soft.

She rolled her eyes and looked back at the monitor. Trying to keep her composure, she bit her lip but could feel his eyes unmoving on her. Eventually, she lost it.

"Don't look at me like that."

"Like what?"

"Like you're thinking about the last time you saw me in it."

"I am thinking about the last time I saw you in it."

"Figures."

"You had a little chocolate sauce on your lip during desert."

"What?" her head turned. Looking him in the eyes for the first time.

"You got a little bit of chocolate on your lip," he repeated, "and when I told you about it you weren't embarrassed and you didn't try to wipe it away. You just licked it off, god forbid any chocolate sauce go to waste." He chuckled at the memory.

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I knew in that moment that there was no use denying that I love-"

"Don't." Her voice was sharp. "You can't just go around using that word to get what you want."

"It's the truth."

"Well I don't believe you."

"What's it going to take?"

"Seth,"

"Tell me. Tell me and I'll do it." He turned towards her in his seat, leaning in.

"It's over, everything's said and done."

"Anything, Sash, I'll do anything. I'll cut Jenna out of my life, I'll delete every number of every girl I've ever spent the night with, I'll never look at another woman again."

She scoffed a bit again.

"I'll move to Boston to be with you, I'll get on one knee and ask you to marry me if that's what you want, just tell me-"

"Enough. You've heard my answer."

"Baby,"

"Stop. Can we just," she motioned towards the monitor, "thanks."

So they sat in silence for the rest of the show, waiting for their Slammy segments to take place. He sauntered out to accept Surprise Return of the Year, and returned to her dismissive chuckle. She grinned as her name appeared for Female Superstar of the Year, flipping her hair at him as she plopped it down next to her other one. At Superstar of the Year, he got to do the same, and told her it was down to Match of the Year.

As the camera crew left, he looked back at her.

"Nervous?"

She shook her head, "it doesn't matter."

"Yeah," he chuckled, "to you, it does."

She looked up at him with a softness in her eyes.

"You can't hide. Not from me," he said with a little smile.

For a moment it seemed like she might reach up and kiss him again, but she didn't. She shook her head once more and focused on the match on the screen.

Eventually the time came, the crew returned to their interview room and set up. Sasha fixed her hair, nervously.

"You look great," he said in a low voice.

She shot him a side glare and he didn't say anything else. They stood by the crate, arms crossed and smirking at each other as the cameras started rolling. Triple H came out on the monitor to announce the match of the year. Out of the corner of his eye he saw her breathing heavily, waiting to see if the fans had voted a women's match for the first time.

"And the 2016 match of the year is…"

He smirked at her once more, wondering if he really would hear his own name called. She was inevitably thinking the same thing. That moment lasted forever, the tension building in the room.

"AJ Styles vs. John Cena at SummerSlam!"

"What?" he heard himself say.

Her hand was up to her mouth as AJ and Cena came out to accept their award, her eyes watering.

"Hey," he took a step closer to her as she bit her lip and her eyes swelled with tears. "It's alright,"

In a moment of gutsiness, he place a hand on her shoulder and rubbed it gently while a tear started rolling down Sasha's face. Renee walked over from behind the cameras.

"Seth, Sasha, you're both obviously very upset you didn't win Match of the Year, can you tell me what's going on in your heads?"

"Renee," Seth said as Sasha shook her head, lost for words, "That's just how these things go sometimes. But Sasha and I have put on some of the greatest matches this year, there's nothing to be ashamed of."

She looked over at Sasha, who was not keeping it together well. He knew she'd start to sob if she opened her mouth and tried to put it into words, so he intercepted.

"Thanks, Renee, that's all."

The camera's cut. Renee smiled at them sympathetically and the producer gave them thumbs up as he left with the camera guy. They were left, all alone, in the small interview room, his hand still on her shoulder.

"It's just one stupid contest," he told her in a whisper, "most people don't even vote. There's still the rankings left to come out…PWI and all, you'll be on that list."

She began to sob finally, the tears running down her face. He rubbed her shoulder, draping his other arm around her as she leaned into him.

He chuckled, "it's okay, it's okay…" He kissed the temple of her head, and apparently gone too far.

She shrugged out of his embrace. A sting ran through his whole body and she turned his back on him to collect her stuff.

"I don't need you," she said through sniffles, "for anything."

"Saaasha…" he pleaded.

"This is dumb," the tears were still rolling. "This is stupid. It doesn't matter."

He walked over to her, wiping a tear from her cheek. "Don't, don't cut me off like that. You can be mad at me all you want, you can hate me, but don't do that."

"I don't…" she shook her head, wiping her eyes. "I don't hate you, Seth."

His stomach dropped. "Is there any chance? No bullshitting, just tell me."

"Not today."

"And one day? Any chance in hell that one day you'll forgive me?"

"I…I don't know."

"Because if there's the slightest chance, Sash, I'm not gonna give up on you. But I don't wanna get my heart broken day in and day out for something that is never going to happen. Please, just…"

"Oh your heart's broken," she said sarcastically, "I see."

"Hey!"

"You know you can be so self centered sometimes!"

"Baby," he softened his tone.

"No. Don't you dare-"

"Baby, listen to me."

"I am not your baby!"

"I will do whatever it takes to win you back."

"I'm not a prize for you to win, Seth."

"Sasha, please,"

"Fine, I won't lie to you," tears were in her eyes again. "There is nothing that I want more than to be with you again. But I'm not there right now, and I don't know if I ever will be. Walk away, Rollins. That's the right move. For both of us."

He stared at her for a moment, feeling the twisting in his stomach. Then he sighed, and did as she said, backing up towards the door. He paused right in front of it and made one last swing.

"I'll walk away, but I'm not giving up. I will never give up on this."

XXX

That's all for this one! If you guys are interested in a sequel, there are a few ideas I have for that, so let me know. Maybe Seth can have some redemption. Maybe.


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